EXHIBITIONS After 10 January museums and other cultural sites in Italy are open only to visitors with a Super Green Pass (the certificate issued following vaccination or recovery from covid-19). This provision does not apply to visitors under the age of 12. Most venues require advance booking and the wearing of masks is obligatory. Weekend visits to the more popular sites such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon must be booked at least one day ahead. For visiting details check websites in advance.
100 PRESEPI 5 DEC-9 JAN
This year’s edition of 100 Presepi, Rome’s international Nativity crib exhibition, takes place under the colonnade of St Peter’s Square. A firm fixture on Rome’s Christmas calendar, each year 100 Presepi hosts some Nativity scenes from across Italy and dozens of other countries. In addition to contemporary replicas of traditional 18th-century Neapolitan and Sicilian cribs, and 19th-century Roman mangers, there are modern versions made from wood, papier-mâché and terracotta, as well as unconventional materials such as sand, rice and metal. Now
at St Peter's Square.
Caravaggio and Artemisia exhibition at Palazzo Barberini.
in its 46th year, 100 Presepi was established in Rome in 1976 and took place in Piazza del Popolo until four years ago. Today it is organised by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation. For visiting details see website, www.100presepi.it.
CARAVAGGIO AND ARTEMISIA 26 NOV-27 MARCH
Caravaggio and Artemisia: Judith’s challenge. Violence and seduction in painting between the 16th and 17th centuries is the title of a new exhibition at Palazzo Barberini. The show takes as it starting point Judith who decapitates Holofernes in Caravaggio’s
masterpiece which was rediscovered 70 years ago before being acquired by the Italian state. Evaluating the impact the powerful painting has had on the art world over the centuries, the exhibition comprises 31 works, mostly large format, from important national and international institutions, including the Prado and the Thyssen Museum in Madrid, the Capodimonte Museum in Naples and Rome’s the Borghese Gallery in Rome. The show is curated by Maria Cristina Terzaghi and features works by artists including Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne, Pietro Novelli, Mattia Preti and Giuseppe Vermiglio. Palazzo Barberini, Via delle Quattro Fontane 13, www.barberinicorsini.org.
ANTONIETTA RAPHAEL 17 NOV-30 JAN
The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna (GNAM) presents Through the Looking Glass, an exhibition dedicated to Antonietta Raphaël (Kaunas 1895 – Rome 1975), the Lithuanian- born artist who was a leading exponent of the Scuola Romana movement. The show comprises paintings, sculptures and works on paper, accompanied by documents, family photographs, letters and pages from her diaries. Also on display is a selection of works by artist Mario Mafai – her lifelong partner – along with a specially created video documentary. The gallery says the
30 | January 2022 • Wanted in Rome
