Castelfranco Veneto Celebrates 250 Years Since Francesco Maria Preti's Death with Multi-Venue Exhibition

A new exhibition in Castelfranco Veneto marks the 250th anniversary of the death of Francesco Maria Preti, a key figure in the 18th-century intellectual circle known as the 'Studiosi e libertini'. The show spans three venues: Museo Casa Giorgione, Teatro Accademico, and Palazzo Soranzo Novello. It features artworks, ceramics, books, letters, clothing, and musical instruments to recreate the refined context of this Venetian Enlightenment circle. The group included Giovanni Rizzetti, who challenged Newton's theories on color, and Jacopo Riccati, who formulated the Riccati equation still used today. Preti designed the cathedral of Castelfranco, the Teatro Anatomico, and Villa Pisani in Stra. The exhibition also highlights the legacy of Giorgione and Antonio Canova, with a focus on Canova's plaster casts collected by Francesco Barbisan. The display at Palazzo Soranzo Novello reconstructs daily life with period ceramics, eyeglasses, musical instruments, and fashion items.