Booklet1

M U S E O D’ A R T E M O D E R N A E C O N T E M P O R A N E A DI TRENTO E ROVERETO

TERME DI CATULLO / SIRMIONE

BIG TRIP JULY 2015

Ramón: Ramón: 389 505 1021 Matilde: 333 808 7799 SCHEDULE: 07:40 — Meet in Piazzale Roma (where the Calatrava’s bridge begins) or directly in Tronchetto at 07.50 DON’T BE LATE! 08:00 — The bus leaves! It won’t wait for anybody!

10:30 — Arrival at MART (Rovereto). We have booked a guided tour!

12:30 — The bus leaves from Mart (Rovereto) 13:45 – Arrival to SIRMIONE (lunch and free time!)

16:30 — Visit the GROTTE DI CATULLO. We’re meeting at the entrance of the archaeological site (SEE NEXT PAGE)* 18:30 — Return to Venice (1h. 45 min. of way)

ENJOY YOUR TRIP! AND YOUR DAY OFF :)

*From the bus stop to the Grotte di Catullo there is one km. walking. We’re meeting at 16.45 directly at the entrance of the archaeological site. Please be punctual!

“A building always reshapes new relations; it cannot be indifferent. In its central space, the Mart gathers together and highlights the language of the surroundings. The diversity of the languages – modern/old – becomes richness”. Mario Botta.

Since 2002, Mart Rovereto has been housed in the building designed by the Ticino-born architect, Mario Botta, in collaboration with Giulio Andreolli, an engineer from Rovereto. The building’s centre of gravity is the large glass and steel dome above the central access piazza to the Museum. The roof maintains a constant dialogue with light and covers an area of 1,300 square metres, is 25 metres high and has a diameter of 40 metres, exactly the same as the Pantheon in Rome. For the facades, Mario Botta chose a yellow stone of Vicenza to blend in with the 18th-century setting of corso Bettini.

Architecture that does not take into consideration the relationship with the town and surroundings is rejecting the most considerable part of its mandate”, he affirms. “At Rovereto, we started with a critical survey of what was already there – the corso, the buildings on it, the backdrop of mountains – attributing a relational role to our proposal".

The result is a dialogue between the Mart’s site and a series of historic, public and private buildings that announce the Museum while barely revealing it: Palazzo del Grano, Palazzo Alberti, the Teatro Zandonai and Palazzo dell’Annona. Around the Mart, to complete the Cultural Centre designed by Mario Botta, there are two other institutions: the Biblioteca Civica of Rovereto and Auditorium Fausto Melotti. The overall area occupied by the Mart is 29,000 square metres, of which 14,500 built over.

Futurism, Pop Art, Realism and great exhibitions: Mart in Rovereto is one of the most interesting museums on the Italian scene.

The main building of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Rovereto is located on Corso Bettini, between two 18th century aristocratic mansions called Palazzi Alberti. It was designed in 1987-88, by Swiss architect Mario Botta, Botta with the collaboration of Rovereto-based engineer Giulio Andreolli, and houses a very important art collection ranging from Futurism to Pop Art, Arte Povera and Realism.

On four storeys, the Museum covers area of 12,000 square metres, half of which is dedicated to exhibition space. The two galleries dedicated to temporary shows are on the first floor. The second floor, featuring an area of over 4,000 square metres, houses the Museum's permanent collection, from Futurism to the present day, day and boasts as major highlight numerous artworks by Fortunato Depero, from the 3,000 pieces the artist bequeathed to the town of Rovereto. Other Futurist artists included in the collection are Balla, Prampolini, Thayhat, Di Bosso, Dottori, Fillia, Iras Baldassari, Marinetti and Crali.

Crali On display are also works by Campigli, Licini, Sironi, CarrĂ , de Pisis, Pisis and 21 paintings

by Morandi, Morandi as well as works by several important artists from the period following the First World War, such as Severini, de Chirico, Savinio, Casorati, Tosi, Tozzi Funi, Funi and by renowned international artists, including Picasso, Lèger, Klee, Kandinsky, Lichtenstein, Modigliani, Warhol and Beuys Beuys.

Every year the Museum holds one large exhibition and several temporary shows, and provides a range of interesting educational activities for both adults and children.

Try a little bit in Italian!

Come un unico grande spazio, le due gallerie al primo piano accolgono il visitatore per accompagnarlo, attraverso le Collezioni del Museo, in un lungo e appassionato racconto per immagini.

Un viaggio lungo un secolo, per ritrovare i capolavori e i protagonisti del XX secolo e arrivare con loro ai giorni nostri.

Attraverso lo sguardo dei curatori del Mart, il Museo ridisegna se stesso e costruisce nuove inedite narrazioni, valorizzando le proprie raccolte e rendendo unica l’esperienza di visita attraverso una rinnovata e intima relazione con le opere.

La prima sezione di mostra snoda in un percorso che va da Medardo Rosso a Giorgio Morandi, passando perMario Sironi, Carlo Carrà, Arturo Martini, Giorgio de Chirico, Fausto Melotti, Massimo Campigli,Osvaldo Licini e molti altri. Si prosegue con il secondo ‘900 da Lucio Fontana a Chen Zhen incontrando, tra gli altri, John Baldessari e Alberto Burri, ma anche Bruce Nauman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Luigi Ontani, Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tillmans.

Insieme ai capolavori delle Collezioni, la mostra mette in luce la ricchezza e la varietà dei materiali e dei documenti conservati dall’Archivio del ‘900 del Mart che completano l’excursus storico con materiali complementari a quelli esposti: manifesti, inviti, brochure, ritagli stampa e cataloghi, carteggi, fotografie, registrazioni sonore, filmati.

Giorgio de Chirico – Les deux chevaux, 1926

Thanks to its natural position, the different historical epochs have left to Sirmione so substantial signs to still offer the field for new studies and new discoveries for archaeologists and historians.

The known history of the peninsula began in the second millennium B.C., the Bronze Age. The lake dwelling settlements, extending from Salò to Garda, have been known since the nineteenth century. In particular, the low Garda three submerged sites have been found: in the lake Maraschina (City of Peschiera) in 1971, in the port of Galeazzi (City of Sirmione) and San Francisco (City of Desenzano) in 1976.

The Lombard domination was a period of great importance in the history of Sirmione . This population, coming from northern Europe, swept in 568 B.C. from Friuli along the east-west road to Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, Milan and from there went to Pavia. The peninsula, exhausted by the GothicByzantine war and plague, offered no resistance at the new invaders' advance, who took over all of northern Italy, electing Pavia as their capital. Within the conquered territory, Sirmione occupies a strategic position, as it controlled the road from Verona to Brescia and the road to the Val d'Adige. Its importance is demonstrated by the fact that in this period it became the capital of judiciaria sermionensis, a wide area that stretched from the Valtenesi up to the eastern shore of the lake and came at south to San Martino di Gusnago, village of Ceresara in the province of Mantova and included the plain of Riva at north.Some documents provide information on three existing churches in the peninsula into Lombard era, in the second half of the eighth century, St. Martin, St. Vitus and St. Peter in Mavinas.

The first of these, dedicated to St. Martin, perhaps coincided with the present parish church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which replaced it after its destruction. The building, which dates from the late fifteenth century, has a rectangular shape with a polygonal apse and it is oriented on an east-west axis. The north side stands on the remains of medieval fortifications. The interior has a nave divided by three arches, with walls decorated with frescoes dating to the early '500, except those at the bottom of the north wall that belong to an earlier period. The high altar in the apse was carved in the marble.

The Church of St. Vito and Modesto, which still exists, does not coincide with the eighth-century old building that was demolished and rebuilt in 1744. It is a chapel located on an estate about a mile from the castle. It is currently used at the celebration of the two saints, which is on June 15.

The church of St. Peter in Mavino, secluded from the town, stands on the homonymous hill, which perhaps the mysterious toponym refers to: in summas vineas, that is, between the vineyards located higher up. The building has been remodeled over the centuries, so as to make its history difficult: a brick at the side of the portal bears the date 1320, the year of the restoration and the frescos belong to four different times, two of which prior to this date and the last one dating 1525.The church, oriented on an east-west axis, has a rectangular plan that narrows at the apse for a deviation of the northern wall. In the presbytery there are three apses, one larger at the center and two smaller at the sides. The ceiling is made from large wooden beams. On the left side of the main altar there’s another door to the outside.

Outside, at the same side, the bell tower rises, about m. 17 high, in which one can enter from the inside. Far from town, it became perhaps a leper hospital and a graveyard for the plague victims who could not be buried in the parish church and in the adjacent cemetery.

Apse of the church of St. Peter in Mavino

There also remains a trace of a fourth Lombard church, the one of St. Saviour, almost totally disappeared since centuries, from which you can see a part of the apse at the beginning of the path that goes into the public park. The building, built after the 760 by Queen Ansa, wife of Desire, last king of the Lombards, was part of a small female monastic complex depending on the homonymous monastery of Brescia, called Santa Giulia from the ninth century. The finds preserved in the castle come from this ancient building , including two fragments of a ciborium containing the names of Desire and his son Adelchi’s one.The presence of the Lombards in Sirmione, since the early years of their settlement in Italy, is attested not only by the buildings of worship. Since1914 many tombs have been discovered in the area between the road of "Caves", "Lido of Blondes" and�Via Piana�; it testify the existence of an ancient necropolis located in this area. Depending on the type of objects found (knives, spear points, combs) it's believed that it was used in the first period of the settlement of these people who have left traces even in Sirmione place names: the name of "Lido of Blondes", comes from "biunda", i.e. "enclosed space".In 774 the Lombard kingdom fell by Charlemagne, king of the Franks.

Sirmione suffered from this change: the fortified town and the small monastery of St. Saviour were assigned by Charles to the convent of St. Martin of Tours to finance the habit of the monks. Sirmione lost its administrative importance, it disappeared as a district and started to become a small fortified town of the territory of Verona .Later, Sirmione was established as a municipality and it remained autonomous, directly dependent on the central imperial power, as evidenced by a document dated 1220 by which the Emperor Frederick II confirmed the imperial privileges that the inhabitants had previously received, including the right to fishing on the lake.

Since 1197 the peninsula became subdued to the town of Verona, then to the Scaligeri, taking on a significant importance due to the control exercised by the castle, which held a garrison. The building, which can be admired still today, is the work of the Scala family, while the existence of a fort before their domination is attested by more than one document.

Completely surrounded by water, the castle overlooks the lake from its keep, the higher tower. The date of the building is complex. The analysis of the masonry have led to the identifications of three phases, the first dates back to Mastino I della Scala (XIII c.), the second to the early fourteenth century, the third to half fourteenth century., when the harbor was fortified. The core consists by the four main courtyard enclosed by curtains, by the three corner towers and by the keep.

The long Venetian domination ended in 1796 when Napoleon entered the Veneto to unleash an offensive against the Austrians. He conquered Venice in 1797, but later, with the Treaty of Campo Formio, he ceded it to Austria in exchange for Belgium and Lombardy. The Austrian army entered Venice in 1798. Napoleon regained Venice and ruled from 1806 to 1814, when he was expelled again by the Austrians. In 1848 Venice revolted under the leadership of Daniele Manin, but the Austrians returned in 1849 and they stayed up to 1866, when Austria ceded Venice and the Veneto to the king of Italy. On that date the municipality of Sirmione regained its territorial unity, broken in 1859, after the

second war of independence. In fact, the border between Austria and the Kingdom of Savoy ran up to the building called "Old Customs", which contains the name of its former function.

The thermal thermal source / Lido di Sirmione The natural attractions and historical-archaeological sites are not the only ones that characterize Sirmione: since the Renaissance an hot sulfur springs was known,the Bojola, welling up from the seabed at 250 meters from the east bank.

However, the attempt to channel and exploit the water, retaining its original temperature, was successful only in 1896. From this date, the thermal activity of Sirmione was then expanded and became known throughout Europe. After the setback suffered by the economy due to the Great War, the property and the grant were transferred to the Sirmione Spa and Great Hotels Company, born in 1921, that still holds it. The business suffered another break due to World War II, during which the occupying troops damaged both hotel structures and spa facilities. Since the end of the war, however, the Baths experienced a great boost, crucial for the employment and the economy of Sirmione. The resumption had a major milestone in 1948 with the construction of the new Spa Centre and with the creation of a Care Deafness Centre. Currently the plant are two: Catullus, in the center, and, since 1987, Virgil, in Colombare.

The thermal water is used in the treatment and prevention of ENT, broncopneumologic, rheumatologic, orthopedic, dermatological and gynecological disorders. The Aquaria center was inaugurated in 2003 at Catullo, that, reffering to the old Roman traditions, offers a thermal pool as a source of well-being.

We can therefore say that in the twentieth century Sirmione has resumed and expanded that tourism already present in the first century B.C.: it has been reminded as the Roman buildings, of which were found the remains, were "second homes" of wealthy families in the area. For centuries Sirmione has been visited by tourists attracted by its natural beauty and its historical memories, but hotels, villas, holiday homes, tourist facilities were born just after World War II.

The Roman Age in Sirmione Then also the land was inhabited, although the documentation that confirms the arrangement lacks until the Romans. It’s thought that the original settlement of Sirmione was born thanks to certain characteristics of the site. First, the particular shape of this strip of land surrounded by water, and therefore safe. The area at north of the castle, which has the shape of a triangle with the longest side of m.1250 and maximum width of m. 750, consists of three hills: Curtains, San Pietro in Mavinas, the "Catullo’s Caves". On it there are the ruins of a Roman villa (the first century A.D.) that a long tradition without foundation attributes to the poet Catullus, who lived in the I century B.C. It 's likely, however, that the family of Verona, the Valeri, who the poet belonged to, had possessions in Sirmione, some of his famous lines substantiate this hypothesis. The peninsula, in fact, as all the coast of the low Garda, was a resort for high-ranking families, as evidenced by the discovery of at least three houses, of which only the ruins, called just "Catullo's Caves", survive.The "Catullo's Caves", covering an area of two hectares, are the most impressive archaeological site in northern Italy.

The vastness of the site and the scarcity of easily interpretable remains, however, make it difficult for the inexperienced tourists to pay a visit that will allow them to orient themselves in a satisfactory manner.

The visitor who expects ruins similar to Pompei will surely disappoint :there’s almost nothing left of the villa itself, what you can see are the substructures ,that is the powerful masonry intended to support the building and placed below it, and some service areas. Nevertheless, the charm of this place did not pass unnoticed by the visitors of the past, who were able to capture the harmony of the fusion of the ancient rose-colored stones with the unique landscape in which they are immersed. Knowing how to appreciate both the signs of antiquity and the beauty of nature makes the visit complete and unforgettable.

Besides its natural beauty, Sirmione was important in Roman road system: it stood on the Gallic road, the ancient road that came through Bergamo and Brescia to Verona, where it was connected to the Postunia road which, built in 148 BC, united Genoa to Aquileia. In Desenzano the Gallic road continued to Peschiera along the coast, through Rivoltella and Colombare. The Itinerarium Antonini, a text of the

third century A.D. testifies the existence of a place where travellers could stop, the mansion Sirmione, situated half way between Brescia and Verona. Scholars believe that the old mansio was located in Vecchia Lugana, where there is a building which has been indicated by the maps as Osteria or Betola, i.e. a place of rest and refreshment, already in the fifteenth century. Here the Roman road was connected to the ancient village road, the actual Via Lucchino, now a pedestrian promenade along the eastern shore of the lake. Then it continued towards Peschiera, hugging the shore more than the current Highway 11.

Inside the archaeological park, within a vast oliveto-grove, are the remains of a large Roman villa, known for centuries as “grotte di Catullo�. The building, built between the end of the 1st century B.C. and the beginning of the 1st century A.D. in an excellent panoramic position, at the extreme tip of Sirmione peninsula, is the most important example of a high-class residence in the whole of northern Italy.

Just after the entrance to the archaeological park one find the Museum, where objects brought to light during the excavation of the villa, and in archaeological work conducted in Sirmione and other localities of lake Garda, are displayed.

This is the largest and the most complete Roman villa in northern Italy, situated at the outmost point of the Sirmione peninsula on Lake Garda. Actually it was probably not a property of Catullus, but of a family belonging to the Valeria gens, and the poet might have been their guest for a time, which would have given origin to the legend.

The villa was built soon after the Augustan period (1st century AD) on a rectangular plan 167m long and 105 wide, covering about 20,000 square meters. It consisted of 3 floors, with the main entrance to the south, where also the spas were located. On the long sides there were covered porches, joined to the north in a panoramic terrace overlooking the lake. At the center was a wide open space, covered today with olive trees. Below the villa are previous constructions of the 1st century BC, and it is historically certain that it was already abandoned in the 5th century AD. The name grotto came to be used after the fall of the Roman empire, when many ceilings collapsed and the site was filled with vegetation.

In the Antiquarium, situated to the right of the entrance, there are items found in the villa as well as other specimens from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages found in the Sirmione peninsula, fragments of frescos, mosaic paving, ceramics and coins. The antiquarium, beautifully organized with panels and charts of the place as it must have been in its days of splendour, also collects frescoes of the late 1st century AD with sea scenes, and a mysterious portrait of a poet, which many like to believe to be a representation of Catullus himself.

The seminal research on the site was by archeologist Girolamo Orti Manara of Verona in the late 19th century. Then the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Lombardia (a branch of the Italian Ministry of Culture and Arts) purchased the whole site in 1948. Studies and excavations are still being made.