Italy Celebrates Centenary of Picasso's 1917 Journey with Exhibitions and Performances

The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBACT) has organized a series of events to mark the centenary of Pablo Picasso's 1917 trip to Italy with Jean Cocteau. The journey inspired the curtain for the ballet "Parade," with music by Erik Satie, premiered in Paris in May 1917. Picasso visited Rome, Naples, and Pompeii, drawing creative inspiration from these locations. On April 8, the exhibition "Picasso e Napoli: Parade" opens at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, featuring the original Parade curtain and costumes at the Pompeii Antiquarium. On April 10, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma hosts "Picasso a Roma cento anni fa," recalling the 1917 exhibition at Teatro Costanzi that included works by Picasso, Balla, Depero, Prampolini, Stravinskij, Cocteau, and Leonid Massine. In July, ballets "Parade" and "Pulcinella" will be performed at the Teatro Grande di Pompei. On September 21, Scuderie del Quirinale opens "Pablo Picasso. Tra Cubismo e Neoclassicismo: 1915-1925," with over 100 works from institutions including Centre Pompidou, Museum Berggruen, Fundació Museu Picasso, Guggenheim, and Metropolitan Museum. The exhibition also displays the Parade curtain at Palazzo Barberini. Minister Dario Franceschini emphasized the collaboration with Italian cultural institutions such as Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Soprintendenza di Pompei, Scuderie del Quirinale, and Gallerie Nazionali d'Arte Antica di Roma.