MYTHOLOGY FESTIVAL
Myths, gods and heroes in Villa Arconati
As Homer teaches, the gods have always sent stories to men so that we would have something to tell. Myths are stories, but they are also representations of ourselves, of the values, vices and virtues that we have embodied for centuries.
Villa Arconati has been populated by heroes and deities of classical mythology since the seventeenth century; it is the ideal place, therefore, to tell stories of beauty, art and culture, but also of love, truth and justice starting from the stories of its theatres, its statues, and its wonderful frescoes.
Fondazione Augusto Rancilio organizes - in continuity with the "Agenda 2030" project - under the artistic direction of Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, the first edition of the "Mythology Festival" which will span the entire season with 4 events and a themed white night:
Sunday, September 22, 11 a.m.
THE SALVATOR MUNDI
ATTRIBUTED TO THE “MYTHICAL LEONARDO DA VINCI”,
the most expensive painting in the World
Pietro C Marani discusses it with Massimiliano Finazzer Flory
The Augusto Rancilio Foundation is honored and proud to have as its guest the most authoritative Italian scholar on the international Leonardo da Vinci scene, art historian and curator of the world's most important exhibitions on the Renaissance genius, Pietro C Marani.
“The Myth of Leonardo” The Salvator Mundi attributed to the ‘mythical Leonardo da Vinci,’ the most expensive painting in the world, over $450 million in 2017. Prof. Pietro C. Marani, president of the Ente Raccolta Vinciana, Castello Sforzesco, Milan, and member of the Vinciana National Commission for the Publication of Leonardo's Works, Rome, discusses it on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 11 a.m. with the artistic curator of the exhibition, director and actor Massimiliano Finazzer Flory.
Marani closes the controversy over the Salvator Mundi in light of a new Trinitarian interpretation of the subject and on the basis of the more than 30 existing copies unexplained if the painting was not by Leonardo or did not come out of his workshop.
Villa Arconati since the seventeenth century has been the “home” of Leonardo da Vinci: Galeazzo Arconati, in his farsightedness, had understood before anyone else the importance of Leonardo's codices and had purchased as many as 12 of them from the heirs of Pompeo Leoni, including the Codex Atlanticus. Because of the unique value of these treasures, Galeazzo did not keep them for himself, but decided to donate them in 1637 to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, founded by his cousin who oversaw his cultural education, Cardinal Federico Borromeo.
Galeazzo Arconati's illegitimate son, Father Luigi Maria, transcribed into the vernacular the studies of hydraulics from the Atlantic Codex - which were used for the construction of the water features of the Castellazzo fountains - grouping them in the volume “Del moto e misura dell'acqua,” donated to Cardinal Barberini and now kept at the Vatican Apostolic Library.
During the Napoleonic spoliations, the codices left Italy for France, but Canova managed to bring the Atlantic back “home” precisely by enforcing the clause in Galeazzo Arconati's bequest, which sanctioned the fact that the codices were his “gift to the city of Milan” therefore they should remain at the Ambrosiana.
Unfortunately, the codex of the Scuderia Ideale, which is now kept at the Bibliothèque de France, was not, however, recovered: that codex was used for the construction of the stables of Villa Arconati, which still retain the dimensions and proportions indicated in this precious document.
The "Mythology Festival" events are free, open to the public with limited places. After the meetings it will be possible to visit the Villa after purchasing the entrance ticket.
Villa Arconati – Fondazione Augusto Rancilio
Via Madonna Fametta, 1, Castellazzo di Bollate (MI)
www.villaarconati-far.it | info@fondazioneaugustorancilio.com t. 02.3502217 – 393.8680934