MILANO UNVEILED. Program of the First Duomo Tour. October 1-4, 2015

Transcription

1 MILANO UNVEILED Program of the First Duomo Tour October 1-4, 2015

2 INTERNATIONAL PATRONS OF DUOMO DI MILANO requests the pleasure of your company MILANO UNVEILED The first Duomo Tour 1st-4th October 2015 created by Philippe Daverio Artistic Director of the Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano ~ Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano ~ Marchese and Marchesa Alberto Berlingieri owners of Alessandro Manzoni s Villa in Brusuglio ~ Guests of Honour Prince and Princess Michael of Greece

3 INTERNATIONAL PATRONS OF DUOMO DI MILANO Honorary Chairman Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo Milano Unveiled Board of Directors Jim Carolan, president Gianni Baratta Simone Crolla Advisory Board Paola Antonelli Mario Boselli Albert G. Lauber Riccardo Monti Federica Olivares Giulio Maria Terzi di Sant Agata Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò Dear Friend, Iam glad to present you, together with International Patrons of the Duomo di Milano, a trip that will lead you to discover Milano and its most iconic monuments in unique circumstances. We will introduce you to some of Italy most prominent families and their historical palaces and villas, enjoying special tours to find Milano s hidden treasures as well as the most exquisite food and wines of Lombardy and Italy. T h e Duomo di Milano, together with Alessandro Manzoni, the great nineteenth century writer, will be the fil rouge of the entire tour, guiding you amongst the most beautiful surroundings. You will be staying as our Guests either in the charming Villa Manzoni at the Milan Gates, surrounded by a magnificent garden, or in the building of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, located just behind the magnificent Cathedral, with breathtaking views of the city. I look forward to meeting you here in Milano! Marchesa Barbara Berlingeri

4 Milano Milan has long been thought of as the Big Apple of Italy. A hard-working, productive city, a hectic northern metropolis, the capital of Italian fashion, and a beacon for international design, Milan is a locomotive for Italy s economy. At the same time, it is a thriving center of cultural ferment. Milan is also much more. Milan is a capital of Italian history, arts, entertainment, and politics. Milan s beauty, however, lies hidden, invisible to the casual visitor. The city s beauty is concealed in courtyards, behind the façades of privately owned palazzi that enclose verdant gardens and vast art collections; it is tucked away in the churches and museums that safeguard so much of Italy s vast cultural and artistic heritage. Like an invisible bridge linking the U.S. and Italy, the International Patrons of the Duomo di Milano have assembled this unique tour that will take our guests on a voyage of discovery, in search of the small, priceless treasures that Milan so jealously conceals. Still, not all of Milan s beauty is hidden. Indeed, this city s emblem and the image most often depicted on postcards is the Cathedral, Milan s Duomo, a secret in plain sight, the central destination of this journey we ve crafted for our Patrons. The Duomo di Milano represents the fulcrum of the city s ethics and tradition. Nothing represents Milan s history of hard-working determination like the Duomo, nothing else so thoroughly evokes the willingness of the people of Milan to take up the challenges of the centuries. This, one of the most astonishing Gothic cathedrals ever built, forms a crucial part of Milan s identity yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

5 Thursday, October 1 Day 1 Welcome Dinner, 8.00 p.m. The tour begins in the magnificent setting of Brusuglio, where Marchese and Marchesa Alberto Berlingieri are pleased to welcome us into their stunning home, the Villa Manzoni the summer residence of none other than Alessandro Manzoni himself, one of Italy s best known writers, a novelist, poet, and playwright - the author of the great Italian novel, I promessi sposi, The Betrothed. The villa and its grounds remain by and large unchanged by the passage of centuries, and preserve the unspoiled charm of so many mementoes of Manzoni s career as a writer, but also as an architect and a botanist. Alessandro Manzoni himself oversaw the construction of the villa s central structure. It was at the foot of one of the oak trees that still stand in the garden today that Manzoni wrote his great ode on the death of Napoleon, Il Cinque Maggio ( The Fifth of May, 1822) This welcome dinner will allow the members of the group to get to know each other, as well as to meet the staff and the representatives of the International Patrons of the Duomo di Milano and the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, who will be accompanying them throughout the Tour. 9

6 Friday, October 2 Day 2, morning 9.00 a.m. During the first morning of our visit, we will be touring the Duomo di Milano and its treasures. Philippe Daverio, Artistic Director of the Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano and a renowned and entertaining art historian, will be our guide for this special visit. The Duomo We will start with the Archivium Fabricae, the Historical Archive, whose papers span more than 700 years of Milanese history and document such great artists as Leonardo da Vinci. Next, we will visit the Duomo itself, Milan s cathedral and the city s spiritual and moral heart. From the Terraces atop the cathedral, you will enjoy a breathtaking view of the city and its modern skyline, as well as the forest of 135 spires, all built in Candoglia marble. We will then learn more about Candoglia, where the Duomo s beautiful marble was quarried. Located on the eastern bank of the Toce River, at the mouth to the Val d Ossola (Piedmont northwest Italy). This is the source of the unusual coloration of Duomo di Milano. Since 1387, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti first decided to replace the bricks originally chosen for the construction of the Duomo with marble, the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano has always quarried its marble in Candoglia. For centuries, the marble has been brought to Milan via the Navigli, canals leading from the Ticino River that were designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Candoglia marble is as beautiful as fragile; that is why the cathedral and especially its soaring spires require constant care and complex maintenance. The tour will conclude with a visit to the marble workshop of the Duomo di Milano, where the marble is sculpted and carved p.m. Lunch will be served in a private villa on the way back to Milan through the Brughiera, Lombard horse country, where we will be welcome guests of the owner. The Brughiera is the Milanese countryside, and this wonderland of flowers and plants is ideal for horseback riding, golf, and other sports, a perfect escape from the stress of city life. The countryside enjoys broad horizons and magnificent vistas, and takes its name from a pinkish flower (the Brugo, or Calluna vulgaris). 11

7 Friday, October 2 Day 2, afternoon and evening 7.30 p.m. In the late afternoon, we will be taken on an exclusive private tour of The Last Supper, probably Leonardo da Vinci s best known fresco, located in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. On this very special occasion, the actor Massimiliano Finazzer Flory will be our guide, regaling us with his latest theatrical performance. Massimiliano Finazzer Flory is a playwright, actor, and theatrical director and the mastermind of Being Leonardo da Vinci: An Impossible Interview a production devoted to this emblematic Italian genius. This staged biography of Leonardo da Vinci, artist and scientist, premiered in London in 2012 at the National Gallery, in conjunction with the landmark exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan p.m. We will be hosted for dinner by Piero Castellini Baldissera, a Milanese architect best known for an eclectic style that brings together both elegance and a light touch. He will welcome us into his historic home, the Casa degli Atellani. Located just a short walk from Leonardo da Vinci s Last Supper in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie on Corso Magenta, the Casa degli Atellani is one of the very few fully Renaissance buildings still standing in Milan. When Leonardo da Vinci came to Milan to work at the court of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, his patron gave him a vineyard all his own. It is easy to imagine him, at the end of a hard day working on the Last Supper, walking home through the Borgo delle Grazie to the Casa degli Atellani and stopping by to check on the state of his vineyard. 12

8 Saturday, October 3 Day 3, morning EXPO a.m. Our guests can choose one of two different programs on this day; one will feature a tour of the Milan Expo, with a special focus on the Italian Pavilion and the U.S. Pavilion, followed by a private and exclusive lunch in the Ferrari Lounge, while the second option includes a tour of the Fondazione Prada, followed by lunch in a private home in Milan with our host. EXPO 2015 For those of our guests who choose option one, the tour of Expo 2015 will offer a chance to visit various pavilions, and in particular the American and Italian pavilions. American Pavilion: The USA Pavilion is an open structure evocative of the structure of a traditional American barn. The American pavilion showcases American leadership in the global food arena. Italian Pavilion: The Universal Exposition of 2015 represents an excellent opportunity for Italy to revive and promote its many points of excellence in manufacturing, technology, and science. Fondazione Prada For those choosing the second option, there will be a special tour of the new Milan venue of the Fondazione Prada. Conceived by Rem Koolhaas s architecture firm, OMA, the Fondazione has expanded the array of spatial typologies for exhibiting art and sharing it with the public. As stated by Rem Koolhaas: The Fondazione is not a preservation project and not a new architecture. Two conditions that are usually kept separate here confront each other in a state of permanent interaction offering an ensemble of fragments that will not congeal into a single image, or allow any part to dominate the others. New, old, horizontal, vertical, wide, narrow, white, black, open, enclosed all these contrasts establish the range of oppositions that define the new Fondazione p.m. For those who choose to visit EXPO2015, an exclusive lunch will be served in the private Ferrari Lounge, while for those who opt to visit the Fondazione Prada, lunch will be hosted in a private home in Milan. 15

9 Saturday, October 3 Day 3, afternoon and evening 2.00 p.m. We will then visit the renowned Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, an art gallery featuring several of the world s greatest masterpieces, such as The Musician by Leonardo, The Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio, The cartoon for the School of Athens by Raphael, The Adoration of the Magi by Titian, the Madonna del Padiglione by Sandro Botticelli and the magnificent Vases of Flowers by Jan Brueghel. The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, was created in April 1618, when Cardinal Federico Borromeo donated his collection of paintings, drawings and statues to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, which he had founded in p.m. We will be given a private tour of the Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano by the Artistic Director of the museum himself, Philippe Daverio p.m. Next we will proceed to the Teatro alla Scala to enjoy the comic opera L elisir d Amore. La Scala was built under the auspices of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, as a replacement for the Royal Ducal Theatre, destroyed by fire on February 26, 1776, which had until then been the home of opera in Milan. La Scala was designed by the great Neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini, and it opened on August 3, 1778 with Antonio Salieri s opera L Europa riconosciuta, libretto by Mattia Verazi p.m. We will then enjoy the evening s performance of L elisir d amore (The Elixir of Love), a comic opera (melodramma giocoso) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. L elisir was the most performed opera between 1838 and 1848 and has remained in the international opera repertoire since. Today it is one of the most frequently performed of all Donizetti s operas. Dinner will be hosted, in a charming private house near the Teatro alla Scala, in honor of the cast of the opera, welcomed by the owner. 17

10 Sunday, October 4 Day 4, morning and afternoon a.m. We will attend a private concert in honor of the famed composer Giuseppe Verdi, in the church of San Gottardo in Corte, recently restored by the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano p.m. For lunch, we will be the guests of Conte Giulio Durini di Monza at the magnificent Palazzo Durini. Palazzo Durini has medieval origins and was the residence of Vercellino Visconti, a member of the Milanese duke family. Throughout the years, the palace has changed its style many times until the neoclassical style came. During the first part of the eight hundreds, the well-known artist and art collector Giuseppe Bossi lived in it and it became a house museum, where all the art works could be admired, he also established a painting school on the request of Eugenio of Beauharnais. The Durini Foundation, created in 1939 by Don Antonio Durini Count of Monza and led nowadays by Don Giulio Durini, wants to bring back to life the original status of noble residence and exhibit its precious furniture that come from the Durini s collection. During the years, various art works have been lost and the Durini Foundation has been able to bring them back to their original place. 19

11 Sunday, October 4 Day 4, afternoon and evening 3.00 p.m. After lunch, we will have the chance to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria presso San Satiro followed by tea in Raffaella Curiel s Atelier, hosted by Raffaella Curiel the Milanese fashion designer and her daughter Gigliola Curiel. Almost hidden between via Torino and via Speronari, Santa Maria presso San Satiro is among Milan s most fascinating religious monuments: an archetype of the city s multifaceted history and numerous artistic influences. The monument as we know it today was built on the foundation of a smaller ninth-century church dedicated to St. Satyrus, brother of St. Ambrose (Milan s patron saint). The Renaissance architect Donato Bramante was in charge of construction. He designed the nave and transept and came up with an ingenious solution to overcome space limitations for the presbytery or chancel, the feature for which the church of San Satiro is arguably best known: by creating a trompe-l oeil architectural illusion with stucco, he brought into existence an illusion of perspective and depth in a space that measures little more than one meter p.m. Dinner will be hosted by Conte Mario Emanuele Cicogna Mozzoni at his beautiful Casa Cicogna Mozzoni. This magnificent residence was built in the sixteenth century for Piero Paolo Arrigoni (president of the Milanese Senate, during the reign of Emperor Charles V). In 1596 ownership was transferred to Count Pirri Visconti Borromeo, then to the Litta Visconti Arese family and subsequently to the Dati della Somaglia family. The house, which at the time was surrounded by a large garden, was purchased by Count Carlo Cicogna Mozzoni in The garden was redesigned by Luigi Canonica, who enclosed the large courtyard with a fourth wing of the palace, decorated with paintings in the romantic Neo-Gothic style by Alessandro Sanquirico, a set designer at the Teatro alla Scala. 21

12 Monday, October 5 Day 5, optional extention For those wishing to visit a little more an optional extension is offered: a.m. Tour of Franco Maria Ricci s labyrinth. The largest labyrinth in the world has been created at Fontanellato (Parma) based on an idea by Franco Maria Ricci, publisher, designer, art collector, and bibliophile, and a promise he made in 1977 to the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges who had long been fascinated by the symbol of the labyrinth as a metaphor for the human condition. Ricci s maze is the creation of an aesthete with sublime taste who has always been a lover of beauty, both elegant and enticing. Moreover, it is made entirely of bamboo plants. The spectacular site hosts a museum with Mr Ricci s private art collection, and also a starred chef-restaurant. Parma has always been a place of delights, home to large, exquisite art collections. Fontanellato, with its splendid historic center, the Rocca Sanvitale, and Parmigianino s frescoes, possesses an extraordinary artistic heritage, and is also well known for its fine dining. 22

13 INTERNATIONAL PATRONS OF DUOMO DI MILANO For further information, please contact: International Patrons of Duomo di Milano Inc. 430 Park Avenue, New York, NY www. duomopatrons.org Development office Alessandra Pellegrini Arts Council via Fratelli Bronzetti, Milano The program may be subject to modifications based on invitations we may receive and various logistical issues