Starfinancer

“Italy, Italy! There is no land that is beautiful and the same.” How can you blame Mino Reitano who celebrated the uniqueness of our country in one of his most famous songs. Italy is beautiful in every corner. , is the kingdom of art and history. For this reason, campaigns are being carried out on several fronts to promote its beauties and treasures. The Touring Club, which has been taking care of the Italian territory as a common good for over 125 years, proposes “Open for you under the stars“from 16 to 19 June. An initiative to discover the secrets of cities that are often not even found in tourist guides, learn about the history and curiosities of a place and, above all, enter palaces or churches that are often inaccessible.

Prolonged and extraordinary openings and special events are scheduled, and everywhere the warm welcome from the volunteer members of the Italian Touring Club who witness so much beauty (for example at the Mo.Ca di Brescia, an Italian cultural center inside the Palazzo Martinengo Colleoni di Malpaga, the volunteers will welcome guests in historical costumes). Numerous cities are involved from Brescia to Palermo. Many visits are free, others with a small donation, others with an entrance ticket. For the detailed program and reservations, the dedicated page of the TCI website.

With this project, the Italian Touring Club also wants to raise awareness of the experience of active citizenship, spreading the awareness that the assets of our country are a common good and it is everyone’s job to take care of them.

Among the openings not to be missed is that of Palazzo Arese Borromeo di Cesano Maderno (Mb), sumptuous residence of Count Bartolomeo III Arese, with its simple and rigorous facade of a blinding white, where unusual spaces will also be visible (the Sala delle Colonne, the Marine Room and the Castle Room). Particularly the room with the mosaics, a small real neighborhood characterized by a mosaic covering of small black and white river pebbles with elegant typically Baroque designs and consisting of two rooms, thus entirely decorated. The tour will end in the Loggia del Palazzo: here, in the light of the twilight and overlooking the perspective view of the Borromeo Park, you will taste a cocktail with a “pink sunset” theme, accompanied by the refined notes of a harp.

In Milan, there will be a visit with an aperitif at I Tesori della Ca ‘Granda which for the occasion includes the hall of the Summer Chapter, normally not accessible. Also in the Milanese capital you can admire Casa Museo Boschi di Stefano (in via Jan 15) and San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore (the largest female monastery in Milan of the sixteenth century with a spectacular starry vault), with evening openings animated by the stories of the members volunteers. This year, also in the name of inclusiveness. In fact, visits with translation into sign language and Ukrainian are scheduled for refugees welcomed in the city. A way to meet through the language of beauty.

Moving to the land of the Gonzagas, in Mantua, it will be possible to visit the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara, in the square of the same name, which is part of the magnificent complex of palaces, cloisters and squares built by the Gonzagas, with extended hours until 10 pm. historical tales, the music of the precious Antegnati Organ.

Normally not accessible in Piacenza is the tower of Montebolzone (Agazzano), a private space that will exceptionally open their doors for the event. It stands out over the untouched countryside of Val Luretta, a treasure trove of ancient architecture and unspoiled nature, and was the tower-house keep of a castle located on one of the first terraces that rise from the plain. It has recently undergone an accurate conservative restoration and today it is possible to go up the five floors on which it develops, two of which are vaulted. On the top the patrol path has been reconstructed, from which it is possible to admire the castles, the ancient parish churches and the noble palaces that emerge in the surrounding landscape.

In Rome, the protagonist will be Palazzo Borromeo, located along the Via Flaminia not far from Porta del Popolo and the square of the same name, which has its roots in the Italian Renaissance and, after several successions, in 1929 it was bought by the Italian government in order to host his diplomatic representation to the Holy See. Also visible is the exhibition “Contemporaries at Palazzo Borromeo. Art and design in the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See “. The visit will begin at sunset and will end with an aperitif in the colonnaded cloister of the Palazzo.

Naples welcomes visitors to the church of Santi Severino e Sossio, in via Capasso 2 (on June 18 with an extended evening opening until 8pm). A jewel made up of 374 square meters of frescoes (second half of the seventeenth century), very rich wooden inlays (sixteenth century) and precious Cosmatesque floors. The wooden choir in walnut, designed in 1560 by Benvenuto Tortelli from Brescia, on which the monumental organ stands out, is very elaborate.

Finally, in Palermo for the first time you can enter the Church of Santa Maria in Valverde (Piazza Cavalieri di Malta), from 5 to 8 pm and be enchanted by the decorative apparatus inside (by Paolo Amato). The sub-choir frescoed in 1750 by Olivio Sozzi is noteworthy. On the side walls there are four altars, richly decorated with mixed marbles: the most important is the one dedicated to Saint Lucia. The highlight is the altarpiece by Pietro Novelli Madonna del Carmelo, on the altar, with the saints Teresa of Avila and Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi and the blessed Alberto and Angelo da Licata.