Italo Calvino's centennial inspires urban tech exhibition at Palazzo Merulana

Curated by Luca Ceresoli and Serenella Di Marco, the group show 'Tecnologie Urbane' at Palazzo Merulana in Rome draws inspiration from Italo Calvino's novel 'Invisible Cities' on the centenary of his birth. The exhibition stages a polyphonic dialogue between visual arts, the city (both physical and conceptual), and new digital technologies. Alongside contemporary artists, works from the permanent collection by Piranesi, de Chirico, Gentilini, and Munari are displayed, framing the city as a site of memory. Street artists and itinerant painters are also featured. Nuvola Project (Gaia Riposati and Massimo Di Leo) presents cloud-like installations that respond to sound and light, described by Riposati as 'performing computer works' that connect the metaverse to the universe. Antonia Ciampi shows tactile, padded works exploring urban signage and universal language, asserting that art has always been conceptual since Giotto and Cimabue. The exhibition runs at Palazzo Merulana in 2023.