Thursdays at the Villa | April 26

7:00 p.m.
Achille Bonito Oliva, Roberto Mancini and Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgi
Dialogue between Achille Bonito Oliva, Roberto Mancini and Lucia Tomasi Tongiorni about the exhibition by Ileana Florescu , moderated by Cristiano Leone, curator of the exhibition.

Achille Bonito Oliva is an exhibition curator, art critic, and university professor of contemporary art. He has lived in Rome since 1968, where he began his career as an art critic; he teaches the history of contemporary art at Sapienza University and serves as academic director of the Master of Arts program at LUISS. He has curated major exhibitions in Italy and abroad and served as general curator of the 45th Venice Biennale (1993), He serves as a cultural consultant for the Campania region and the Metropolitan City of Naples, director of the *Annali delle Arti* for the Campania region, and artistic consultant for the Orestiadi di Gibellina Foundation. A Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, Achille Bonito Oliva has received the highest honors in criticism, journalism, and for his essays. Roberto Mancini is a professor of modern history; since 2006, he has been teaching the comparative history of the Mediterranean in the modern and contemporary eras at Middlebury College (Vermont, United States). Trained at Sergio Bertelli’s school, he participated in the Laboratoire d’histoire project and has taught at numerous universities in Italy and abroad. His work focuses primarily on the social history of mentalities and cultural history. He is the author of numerous books, essays, and articles. Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgi is an exhibition curator and university professor. Her research focuses on modern art, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between art and science, the history of gardens, naturalist iconography, still life, and, more generally, Tuscan art from the 16th to the 18th century. Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgi has been a pioneer in this field, earning her a central role at numerous universities. She is the author of more than 120 volumes, including essays and catalogs. She has curated exhibitions that are considered seminal in her fields of research.

08:00 PM
Ileana Florescu , The Garden Rooms
Opening and tour of the exhibition

“The Garden Rooms” is an exhibition conceived specifically by Ileana Florescu for the Villa Medici. Like a play, the exhibition showcases beauty and a passion for history and botany, weaving a subtle thread between past and present. A garden of wonders—populated by ancient statues, corals, and freshly caught crabs, mandrakes, Turkish fabrics, cardoons, symbols, and mementos of love and intrigue—thus blossoms within the Villa’s historic rooms. For the first time in the institution’s history, visitors will be guided through the exhibition by a multimedia app.

©Mercurio, Ileana Florescu, 2017