Pier Luigi Pizzi: The Show Director on Theater, Exhibition Design, and Collecting

Pier Luigi Pizzi, born in Milan in 1930, is a master of Italian theater and exhibition design. He began his career as a scenographer at age 20, later transitioning to directing. His passion for art led him to curate and design exhibitions, starting with a landmark 1989 show at the Grand Palais in Paris, "Il Seicento," which won a museography prize from the French Ministry of Culture. Pizzi views exhibitions as theatrical narratives, treating artworks as characters. He has worked extensively in Italy and abroad, including at the Louvre and in Naples, Florence, and Venice. A collector himself, he started acquiring Baroque art in the 1990s after a disappointment with contemporary artists. He now lives in Venice, where he is reorganizing Palazzo Ducale with Gabriella Belli. Pizzi continues to direct theater, recently staging a minimalist "Nabucco" in the Marche region.