ROME.- In the heart of the Eternal City, a vital chapter of its artistic history has been reborn. The Museum of the Roman School, nestled within the magnificent Casino Nobile of Villa Torlonia, reopened last week with a stunning new exhibition, "Glances at the City." After a comprehensive, multi-year renovation, the museum now offers a richer, more intimate journey into the art that blossomed in Rome between the two World Wars.
More than just a fresh coat of paint, this re-staging is a complete re-imagining of the collection. The exhibition has been redesigned with a modern and inclusive touch, breaking down the art into thematic sections that tell a story not just of artists, but of the city they inhabited. Visitors are guided through pivotal creative hubs like the "School of Via Cavour" and the "Artists of Villa Strohl Fern," offering a glimpse into the vibrant intellectual and social world that fueled this artistic movement.
But the true soul of the exhibition lies in its special focus on Rome itself. Titled "Roman Landscapes," "Construction Sites," and "City Without Myth," these sections invite us to see the capital through the eyes of its artists, capturing the monumental urban and social shifts of the era. It's a journey from the grand architectural demolitions of the 1930s, such as those captured in Eva Quajotto's "Demolitions in Piazza Navona," to the quiet, poignant moments of daily life.
The exhibition is a treasure trove of over 150 works, featuring masterpieces from the permanent collection as well as hidden gems loaned from private collections and institutional vaults. The roster of artists reads like a who's who of 20th-century Italian art: from the Magical Realism of Antonio Donghi to the raw expressionism of Mario Mafai and Antonietta Raphaël. The inclusion of female artists like Edita Broglio and Adriana Pincherle also marks a crucial step in giving a more complete picture of the period's creative landscape.
A highlight of the new display is the "Rome Collection," a remarkable series of 54 works loaned from BNL BNP Paribas. Conceived by the legendary writer Cesare Zavattini, these pieces were created by a diverse group of artists, including Renato Guttuso and Giorgio de Chirico, who were tasked with capturing "Aspects of the city of Rome." This unique collection offers a powerful and collective portrait of a city in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
Beyond the art itself, the museum experience has been transformed. Enhanced educational tools, including QR codes that link to informative content, videos from the Istituto Luce Archives, and audio guides, bring the works to life. As Mayor Roberto Gualtieri noted at the inauguration, the renewed museum highlights Rome's enduring role as a melting pot of ideas and creativity. "Despite the complex and at times dramatic historical context," he said, "this generation of artists active between the wars demonstrated how art and culture are always able to flourish and generate new energies."
