The Bank of Italy's Art Collection

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By making its art collection available on its website the Bank of Italy offers the general public the opportunity to view and admire the most important works in its possession. The precious and varied collection has been built up over time through numerous purchases and today it covers a vast time span and many geographical areas, from ancient Asia to 20th century Italy, from Roman sculpture to Flemish tapestries.

The collection was originally intended to furnish the reception areas and directors' offices and is not displayed as if it were in a museum. Instead, the pieces are to be found in the many buildings that house the Bank's offices, both in Rome and in other towns throughout Italy. As a collection it is difficult to access and enjoy as a whole.

Through its website the Bank of Italy, constantly attentive to the wishes of the public, has used technology to offer anyone with the means and the interest to log on and access its art collection.

Access to the collection

A Tribute to Venice - Works from the collection of the Bank of Italy

Exhibition 'Giacomo Balla 1902-1940: Esistere per dare'

'The Realism of Carlo Levi and Luigi Guerricchio'. Return to Matera - between the real and the virtual

The exhibition entitled 'The Realism of Carlo Levi and Luigi Guerricchio', which was scheduled for 2020 in Matera and postponed due to the public health emergency, is now available in a virtual format, in line with the policy of many public museums and institutions. As a result, the artistic universe of the two authors can, as of now, be appreciated by a much wider audience.

Reading the volume and watching the documentary (only in Italian), guided by scholars and the curator of the exhibition and viewing the eight paintings on show, help us to understand the links between Levi, Guerricchio and the local area of Matera, on their journey in search of their roots.

Thus, the Bank has included a new and significant element in its objective of enhancing its own art collection, which is all the more important in a period like the current one. When the physical spaces for admiring works of art are shrinking or closing, online content continues to nurture the desire for knowledge and a passion for beauty, while we are waiting to return, soon, to experiencing art exhibitions in person.

Exhibition 'Other Rooms of Art from the Fifties and Sixties'

The exhibition 'Other Rooms of Art from the Fifties and Sixties' opened on 20 November 2017 at the Scuderie Aldobrandini in Frascati. It highlights the close synergy between two institutions, the Bank of Italy and Frascati town council, both keenly engaged in supporting culture and promoting Italy's artistic heritage. The exhibition is also evidence of a strong interest in developing an area that is home not only to the Bank but also to many other leading research centres and university institutes.

This is the first occasion in which works from the Bank of Italy's art collection can be viewed by the public outside the buildings where they are normally housed, hence the title 'Other Rooms'.

All of the forty-three works on display from 21 November 2017 to 4 January 2018 form part of the Bank's art collection and offer a key to interpreting Italian artistic language of the period, ranging from the figurative tradition still followed in the early '50s to the formal elements of abstract art.

Video Gallery