Festival della Bellezza 2024: 41 Events Across Italian Historic Sites

The eleventh edition of the Festival della Bellezza, inaugurated in June at Villa Medici in Rome with a lecture by Melania Mazzucco on scandal and femininity in art, runs through October 2024. The festival, directed by Alcide Marchioro, presents 41 events across 21 iconic Italian heritage sites, from the Temples of Selinunte (6th century BC) to the Cretto di Burri (20th century). This year's theme, 'Immagini e pensieri iconici,' explores iconic images and thoughts shaping reality, referencing figures like Plato, Jesus, Nietzsche, Freud, and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Palladio, Portaluppi, Scarpa, and Burri. Events include lectures, theatrical monologues, and concerts at venues like the Teatro Romano di Verona (main venue), Cenacolo Vinciano in Milan, Castello Sforzesco, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Villa Necchi Campiglio, Sala Fontana dell’Arengario, Teatro Bibiena, Vittoriale, and for the first time, Villa La Rotonda in Vicenza and Villa Barbaro frescoed by Paolo Veronese. Highlights include Flavio Caroli on Leonardo at the Cenacolo Vinciano (September 13), Vittorio Sgarbi on Michelangelo and Canova at the Teatro Romano (July 11), a musical performance by Paola Turci and Gino Castaldo on Italian song from 1979-1981, and Morgan's lecture-concert on rock icons at Villa Mosconi Bertani (September 11). The festival is patronized by the Ministry of Culture, promoted by the Veneto Region, and organized by Associazione Idem.