March 17th is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Cities throughout the country are decorated with the red, white and green flag in celebration. From Thursday through Sunday, the anniversary is being marked with ceremonies and special events such as fireworks, concerts, readings of the Italian constitution and historical exhibitions.
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The Scuderie of the Quirinal Palace are hosting a retrospective dedicated to the Venetian artist Lorenzo Lotto. A series of articles in Corriere della Sera discuss the show which gathers together some 60 of Lotto’s works. Lotto was always overshadowed by Titian and Rafael – Vasari only dedicated one page of his history to this artist. In fact, Lotto’s works are notable for their colors, the contrasts between light and shadow, the movement in the composition and the psychological insight into his subjects. The show is sure to be a blockbuster given that over 25,000 reservations to see it had been made prior to its opening!
A brief article with photographs in La Repubblica reports the excavation of an important Roman house from the first Century in Assisi. The domus is located under Palazzo Giampe’ in the city center. At this time the porticoed garden is visible as are five rooms. The mosaic floors and the frescoed walls of the rooms are notable for their sophistication and are extremely well-preserved.
An essay in the Wall Street Journal discusses I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed). Alessandro Manzoni’s work, which is often called the foremost Italian novel, was first published in 1827 and later revised in 1840. It is a grand, sweeping, historical novel set in 17th Century Lombardy that follows the adventures and travails of Renzo and Lucia, the couple referred to in the title. It is still an intrinsic part of Italian culture; many of its characters are often cited and most Italians can quote lines from the novel with some familiarity.
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