Elisabetta Benassi's Gramsci Tribute at Treccani

On April 27, 2017, the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, in collaboration with Fondazione Gramsci, hosted a one-day exhibition by artist Elisabetta Benassi titled "Passato e Presente" at Palazzo Mattei di Paganica in Rome. The exhibition commemorated the 80th anniversary of Antonio Gramsci's death. Curated by Jacopo Ceni, the show occupied three recently renovated rooms, with visitors walking through a dimly lit corridor to view Benassi's work: a copy of Gramsci's "Passato e Presente" (the final chapter of his "Quaderni dal Carcere") pierced with a wrought-iron nail and fixed to the wall, evoking both the philosopher's imprisonment and his opposition to fascism. The installation was accompanied by Luigi Nono's composition "La fabbrica illuminata," performed by mezzo-soprano Monica Bacelli. The piece, originally commissioned by RAI in 1964 but rejected for being too political, was first performed at the XXVII Festival Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea at La Biennale di Venezia on September 15, 1964. This marked the first time Treccani opened its doors to contemporary art, signaling a potential new direction for the institute.