The Museo Omero exhibits in Prague

Two exhibitions will be held next autumn in the Czech Republic, through the good offices of the Italian Ambassador, Fabio Pigliapoco.
An important acknowledgement for a unique institution.

Presentation

At a press conference held in Ancona Town Hall on 18 June, Fabio Pigliapoco, Italian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Fabio Sturani, Mayor of Ancona and Roberto Farroni, Director of the Museo Statale Tattile Omero announced their
project for a double exhibition to be held this autumn in Prague and Cerna Hora (Moravia) in collaboration with SONS (a national association of the blind and partially-sighted) where a wide-ranging selection of works from the Museo Omero collection will travel to the Czech Republic.

The Italian Ambassador has been active in securing the premises for the main exhibition in Prague which will open on 20 November in the prestigious premises of the Italian Cultural Institute and, more precisely, in the splendid former Palatine Church within the seventeenth century former Ospedale degli Italiani.

Pigliapoco, Sturani, Farroni

"The Museo Omero is one of the best aspects of our city" - said Ambassador Pigliapoco, a native of Ancona, "and I am proud to present it in Prague. It will be the event of the year; the Minister of Culture and several representatives of Czech and Italian institutions will certainly be present.

"The event, which will increase the standing of the entire Marches region, will be given a very high profile" he continued "and will be promoted in the schools and art schools so that it can be enjoyed by everyone, naturally, and not only by the non-sighted."
Mayor Sturani, who has been in working with the Ambassador on this high level project for some time, expressed his great satisfaction, and Roberto Farroni reminded listeners of the recent inititiatives undertaken by the Tactile Museum in various European countries. "The Czech double exhibition project" he added, "crowns the efforts we have made to publicize a unique institution which contributes to increasing international awareness of barrier-free culture and access to extra-visual art, elements that are decisive for the visually handicapped but also capable of providing a unique experience for everybody.

Exhibition design by Massimo Di Matteo, architect

The exhibition project by Massimo Di Matteo (also present at the press conference) features a large number, around twenty, of the Museum's works, including the Poseidon and the architectural model of the Parthenon for the Greek section, the casts of the two Michelangelo Pietàs (San Pietro and Rondinini) for the Renaissance, and Della Santa Natura Il Santo, an original sculpture by Vittorio Morelli for the contemporary section. Furthermore, an area will be entirely dedicated to works in marble and terracotta by the non-sighted sculptor Felice Tagliaferri, who has been promoted by the Museum for some time.

A smaller version of the exhibition will be held before this in the Public Library of Cerna Hora, a pleasant mountain resort in Moravia. This little
town is the home of the oldest real beer brewery in the Czech republic, the "Cerna Hora", managed by Jiri Fusek who is also president of the non-industrial Brewery Circuit of Europe and has helped to put on this event.

iGuzzini: Learn about Form. The dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo

The fact that the "iGuzzini" company (world leader in the field of lighting technique) has taken part in the "Learn about Form: The dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo" project, is an important added value. The Museo Omero provided scientific consultancy and managed to take the exhibition to the Louvre in 2007 for the "Praxiteles" exhibition. This is a perfect copy of the splendid sculpture attributed to Praxiteles, which was found in the Sicilian Channel in 1997. It has been revisited by iGuzzini, in collaboration with the Laboratorio di Fisica dell'Istituto Centrale per il Restauro di Roma, using the most modern illumination resources available.

Around the exhibition

The "Accademia dello Stoccafisso" of Ancona will organizing a wine and gastronomy evening, to accompany the Prague exhibition. "We aim - explained their president Bruno Bravetti "to make one of the main traditional dishes of Ancona better known."
To conclude the evening, Ambassador Pigliapoco has guaranteed his efforts to promote a European tour for the Museo Omero's extraordinary and touching collection which he recently visited blindfold, experiencing powerful emotions.