Artists Occupy Rome's Via del Mandrione Over Sinkhole Crisis
On September 6, 2019, curator Fulvio Chimento presented 'Amore e Rivoluzione' along Rome's Via del Mandrione, a 750-meter stretch that has been closed to traffic since 2018, situated above a 20-meter-deep chasm caused by collapsed underground cavities. The event's title draws inspiration from nearby graffiti. This location, historically associated with livestock herding and the Acquedotto Felice (226 AD), which was restored by Pope Sixtus V, has attracted the attention of filmmakers such as Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Chimento's goal was to challenge the stagnation in Rome's cultural policies, featuring artists like Fabrizio Basso and Alfredo Pirri, and to emphasize the site's historical value through artistic expression rather than redevelopment.
Key facts
- Event 'Amore e Rivoluzione' occurred on September 6, 2019
- Curated by Fulvio Chimento
- Held on Via del Mandrione, Rome, near Stazione Casilina
- Road closed to traffic since 2018 by the municipality
- Road sits above a 20-meter-deep void from collapsed cavities
- Title taken from a graffiti on a nearby wall
- Road historically used for livestock herding
- Linked to Acquedotto Felice (226 AD) restored by Pope Sixtus V in late 16th century
- Referenced by filmmakers Fellini, Sordi, Bertolucci, Pasolini
- Chimento inspired by Alfredo Pirri's statements on Artribune
- Protest against inertia of Rome's cultural policies
- Participating artists: Fabrizio Basso, Sara Basta, Elena Bellantoni, Silvia Cini, Stefania Galegati, Grossi Maglioni, Alfredo Pirri, Alessandro Sarra, Stalker, Jacopo Tomassini
- Exhibition unauthorized and without municipal patronage
- Described as spontaneous action
- Intent to draw attention to a historically significant site
- Aimed to create aggregation through art and disorientation
- Not a redevelopment effort
Entities
Artists
- Fulvio Chimento
- Fabrizio Basso
- Sara Basta
- Elena Bellantoni
- Silvia Cini
- Stefania Galegati
- Grossi Maglioni
- Alfredo Pirri
- Alessandro Sarra
- Stalker
- Jacopo Tomassini
- Federico Fellini
- Alberto Sordi
- Bernardo Bertolucci
- Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Giulia Ronchi
Institutions
- Artribune
- Comune di Roma
- Accademia di Brera
- Università Cattolica di Milano
- OUT44
Locations
- Via del Mandrione
- Rome
- Italy
- Stazione Casilina
- Acquedotto Felice