“Infinite Leopardi”
A year-long event consisting of exhibitions, shows, conferences and publications.
2019 will mark the 200th anniversary of the creation of L’Infinito (The infinite) one of the most famous and important poems in the literary history of Italy. Written by a just 21 years old Giacomo Leopardi, this poem, which gave immortal fame to the hill in Recanati, keeps fascinating generations of readers leading them to dream in the contemplation of the infinite, so superbly evocated by the poet-philosopher.
More than ever now, in a frantic and superficial age like ours, people, inspired by the wonderful verses of one of the greatest investigators of human soul in the history of mankind, need turning to this kind of personal and deep reflections.
The very rich list of events dedicated to the 200 years of The Infinity is topped by the display, at the Villa Colloredo Mels Civic Museum, of its original manuscript. The presence of this document will be enriched with multimedia instruments meant to help and better understand both it and the events which made it reach up to our time. This first part of celebrations, directed by Prof. Laura Melosi, from the University of Macerata, will take place from December 21 2018 to May 20 2019 and will be enriched with the exhibition of documents, manuscripts and relics concerning the poet, from the collections of the Recanati and Visso Municipalities.
The National Committee for the celebrations of the bicentenary of Giacomo Leopardi’s The Infinity was established by the Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities (MIBAC) to celebrate the poet through his most famous creation. This project met the influential participation and cooperation of the main territorial entities, which are the main depositories of the knowledge of Leopardi’s creations and active agents for its diffusion: Centro Nazionale Studi Leopardiani (National Department for the study of Leopardi’s works), Casa Leopardi (Leopardi Mansion), Centro Mondiale della Poesia e della Cultura (World Center for Poetry and Culture), Università degli Studi di Macerata (University of Macerata). The homage to the poem is united to and enriched with other events, especially the exhibition, directed by Alessandro Giampaoli and dedicated to photographer Mario Giacomelli, which highlights one of the most fascinating and less studied aspects of the history of Italian photography after World War II and its relationship with literature. The exhibition will show A Silvia (To Silvia), a famous photo-tale, based upon Leopardi’s homonymous poem, recovered after being thought forever lost, along with the full series dedicated to L’Infinito, in order to enable visitors to compare them and understand Giacomelli’s extraordinary stylistic evolution.
Celebrations of the poem will continue till November 2019 with two exhibitions – “Contemporary Infinity” directed by Marcello Smarrelli and “Infinity Art”, directed by Emanuela Angiuli – dedicated to the way Infinity has been represented in arts, including the most modern works and styles. Marked by the calendar of exhibitions, celebrations shall be joined by collateral cultural events, directed by the most renown experts of Italian and international culture, and shall involve also the new generations.
