FAI Spring Days Open Italian Cultural Sites

The FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) Spring Days event opens numerous cultural sites across Italy to the public. At Monte Verità in Ascona, the history of a naturist and theosophical community from 1899 is highlighted, along with a Bauhaus-style hotel and a permanent exhibition by Harald Szeemann from 1978. Villa Panza in Varese features a vast 18th-century park and a collection by Giuseppe Panza di Biumo, including 11 site-specific installations by Dan Flavin and a temporary exhibition by Robert Wilson until October 15. The Negozio Olivetti in Venice, commissioned by Adriano Olivetti to Carlo Scarpa in 1957, reopened in 2011 after restoration. The Deposito per i Beni Culturali di Santo Chiodo in Spoleto, built after the 1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake, is an anti-seismic storage facility with advanced equipment and restorers from the Opificio delle pietre dure di Florence. The Domus Aurea in Rome, built by Nero after the 64 AD fire, has undergone recent restorations and opens to the public on March 26. Monte Pizzuto in Solopaca features a water reservoir with an installation by Mimmo Paladino using crushed glass bottles. The Castello Normanno in Tricarico offers insights into socialist Rocco Scotellaro and a reportage by Henri Cartier-Bresson on Lucania. The Valle dei Templi in Agrigento showcases recent excavations by the Parco Archeologico in collaboration with the Politecnico di Bari and the University of Catania, revealing a powerful theater.