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made in England in 1860-65; further on are two extraordinary women’s evening cloaks made by Fortuny in 1910-15, one of which belonged to Eleonora Duse. The second section is a monographic exhibition entitled “Female fashion between the Wars”, consisting mainly of garments from Italian dressmakers. Corresponding to the clothing on display, the walls of the rooms are hung with paintings by De Chirico, Casorati, Chessa, Donghi, Bacci and Sironi on loan from the Modern Art Gallery of Florence. It was during this period that “Italian style” first assumed a unique character, not least through the impulse give to new research into Italian materials and techniques that encouraged the development of expert dressmakers and the improved quality of home-produced fabrics. The third section contains an important donation made by Flora Wiechmann Savioli, consisting of jewellery made from “poor” materials between 1958 and 1969, together with clothing and pinafores of a minimalist design. Part of the donation by Gianfranco Ferré can be admired in the last section, consisting of over thirty outfits from the Couture and Prét-àPorter Collections dating between 1985 and 1999. A visit to the Gallery culminates in the rooms known as the “Quartiere Inverno” and “Quartiere Nuovo”, where more of Ferré’s creations and accessories are on show, hand-decorated and elaborated by the designer. Euro-holder Objects for a New Europe (page 33) Much before the arrival of the single European currency, the young Milanese designer Andrea Pellicani developed a curious and intelligent collection of “Euro-holders”, presented within the now-famous section of “research exhibitions” at the Abitare il Tempo 2000 Show. Indeed, hardly anybody knew about the situation that is now engaging all of us: new terms, new signs, new values, new formats for the money bills and coins. The show attempted to provide an answer to the latter since one of the problems we are now having to face is the use of many more “trims” compared to those we used with the lire: suffice it to think of the eight different Euro coins. In the design proposals, the authors were invited to express their doubts, uncertainties, fears, but also their aspirations, expectations and hopes in front of the new euro-reality, in an ironic and desecratory way as well as in a functional and ready-to-use manner. The outcome was a small and stimulating
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exhibition which will certainly be followed by others proposed by designers and companies operating in a goods sector that will soon invade our markets. A conversation with Gian Carlo Bojani (page 36) Interview with the former director of the International Ceramic Museum of Faenza, who now heads the Municipal Museums of Pesaro A – When did you come into contact with ceramic, actually the ceramics? B – I came to know ceramic thanks to professor Ulrich Middeldorf, director of the Germanic Institute of Florence. A – When and why did you become director of the MIC? B – In 1979, when Liverani passed away. A – What were the conditions of the Museum then? B – I liked the Museum due to its 19thcentury, slightly fanée air. A – What did you do for the MIC in the contemporary field? B – Aside from contributing enormously to defining a proper language of ceramic art critique, I attempted to keep the attention alive with many initiatives. A – Exhibition-cum-sales, Palazzo delle Esposizioni di Faenza, etc… Aside from the people who interpret it, what is the cultural point? B – I believe that the Municipalities with a strong ceramic tradition must assert themselves and constitute a sort of Ceramic Company of Italy, as happens with the Fashion Chamber, with Design, for the quality of Italian-made products in its various components. Museums must not play a merely decorative role. A – As for the San Pietro factory, that is the refurbishing and extension of the MIC building. The architects and designers worked in close collaboration with you. What is your philosophy in the redesign project? B – I basically tried to redesign the Museum workshop: refurbished exhibition section for the public; bibliographic / library services section with the most up-to-date computer tools; restoration, inventory, classification, photograph archive section, all of which updated with the most advanced techniques; educational section in the broad sense of the term, as well as the Munariana method; study centre dedicated to conservation, conferences, seminars, specialist and non-specialist meetings, with appropriate halls and auditoriums; activities and spaces dedicated to teaching marketing techniques to the craftsmen – here I immediately and enthusiastically followed the
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incubator project to create new handicraft companies; equipped warehouses also dedicated to the keener public; sections with temporary shows and permanent activity for both retrospective and contemporary ceramics; editorial spaces for publishing activities. A – After heading the International Ceramic Museum of Faenza now you are moving to Pesaro, to the Musei Comunali. B – The Pesaro Museums are not only dedicated to ceramic even though it is of equal historical and qualitative dignity as that of Faenza. To me the Pesaro Museums constitute a challenge in terms of reorganisation, re-order, expansion, restructuring in terms of staff training and architectural structures. Souvenir of PompeiI (page 40) Experimentation and research in the Campania region for art handicrafts aimed at European merchandising Museum merchandising seems to me as a great opportunity for Italian territories where landscape and cultural heritage make up the focal points of a cultural tourism, by many considered the economic engine of South Italy, its future industrial heart. Furniture and design companies are still rare in the Campania. However, small cottage industries are not lacking, and since over a century now they proudly propose a “single material culture”.. These are San Leucio (near Caserta), the most important silk and textile centre of Italy for the furnishing industry – Como ranks first for the clothing industry; Torre del Greco, renowned for coral-working and cameos; Vietri sul Mare, along the Amalfi coast where ceramic artefacts and tiles used in the building industry are made (Faenza is the most important centre in Italy); lastly Sorrento for its wood tarsia. Although they differ from each other for history, origins, production techniques, these handicraft traditions all share a common denominator: the production of the past, the historical production, has allowed them to become well-known and to spread (sales are always notable, especial- ly those deriving from exports). Famous designers have been invited since the very first edition (1990) of the “Giornate Napoletane del Design and the formula is always the same. A designer is invited to participate in an exhibition and he is “bound” to using a given material, i.e. Vietri ceramic, Sorrento marquetry work, Torre del Greco coral (or the cameo-making technique), silk from San Leucio. In addition, each event is also focussed on
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