The Province of Lecco offers various exhibitions and cultural appointments in Villa Monastero of Varenna, the majority of that related to the important renovation and requalification works thanks to PNRR.
The cultural proposals are managed by Anna Ranzi, the curator of the Villa.
Description of the initiatives
Ville Aperte in Brianza Spring Edition – In Villa Monastero there will be guided tours (in Italian only) of the botanical Garden during these days: Saturday 29th of April at 14.30 and 16.00; Sunday 30th of April, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th at 10.00 and 11.30. The reservation is required on the website: www.villeaperte.info.
On Sunday 7th of May at 16.00 and at 17.15, there will be the concert “Opera spettacolare”, music by Verdi, Ponchielli, Puccini, Catalani, Gomes, curated by the Filarmonica Giuseppe Verdi of Lecco.
In addition to the concert, at 15.30 and at 16.30, the guided tour (in Italian only) “Un percorso tra scapigliatura e botanica a Villa Monastero” with the curator Anna Ranzi. Reservation required to attend the Concert and join the guided tour: Visita Guidata e Concerto “Opera Spettacolare”
Camelie sul Lario until 30 April – Villa Monastero integrates the collection of the camellia in the botanical Garden with four new specimens indicated by Fondazione Minoprio. They are two precious specimens of Camelia Snowball and of Camelia Lavinia Maggi Alba with an elegant white colour.
FuoriOrticola from 11th to 14th of May – Villa Monastero takes part in the initiative FuoriOrticola, the event which complement the important horticultural exhibition which will take place at the Indro Montanelli Public Garden, and which involves important city museums: the Museo Bragatti Valsecchi, the Galleria d’arte Moderna, the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the Orto botanico of Brera, the Triennale.
The edition 2023 offers something new: The Orticola’s voice, a series of short podcasts addressing curious and interesting botanical themes. The intelligence of flowers is the theme; Villa Monastero will participate with the podcast “The adaptability of magnolia grandiflora over time”.
From 18th of May to 18th of June, for the ICOM International Museum Day, an unpublished photo album of Villa Monastero will be presented, curated by Achille De Marchi. The exhibition will also show photographs and reproductions of the house and the park, taken in the first two decades of the twentieth century, some of which show members of the De Marchi family.
From 1st of June to 2nd of July – The exhibition Orlando Sora (1903 – 1981)
For the 120 years from the birth of the artist, Villa Monastero offers this exhibition with some works of the painter from local private collections. The works will be accompanied by portraits of the members of the Wilhelm family, recently donated to the House Museum.
Appuntamento in Giardino – On Saturday 3rd June for Appuntamento in Giardino, an event organized by the Italian Parks and Gardens Association, there will be a workshop for families, with the collaboration of the Fondazione Minoprio, on the theme of water paths and fountains.
There will also be a special opening of Villa Monastero until 21.00.
During the months of June, July, and November there will be three creative cultural-naturalistic walks in the botanical Garden for the 2.000th anniversary of Pliny the Elder. The initiative is organized in collaboration with the association “Il Sentiero dei Sogni” and is part of the project PNRR “Enhancement of the identity of the historic garden of Villa Monastero”.
From 1st July to 27th August the exhibition Donne di fiori – Gerardo Bianchi (Monza 1845-1922), painter and photographer.
For the recent centenary of the artist’s death, belonging to the well-known Lombard painter family, Villa Monastero offers a series of 30 unpublished paintings from private collections. The initiative will be completed with portrait photos of characters of the time. The paintings are floral compositions and natural landscapes.
From 2nd to 24th September, for the European Heritage Days, is scheduled the initiative “Carpi Frisia Gola, memories of a territory” dedicated to the artists who have worked in Lecco. An exhibition born from the collaboration between the Province of Lecco, the Municipality of Merate and the Municipality of Olgiate Molgora.
From 16th September to 1st October, Villa Monastero will participate with guided tours (in Italian only) to the Autumn Edition of Ville Aperte in Brianza.
From October to December, for the 150th anniversary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, there will be the exhibition “Percorsi tra paesaggi, moda e sentimenti: Manzoni, Blondel e Beccaria”. The initiative offers a series of paintings dedicated to the lake landscape, some unpublished, dating back to the Manzoni age and the work of painters active in the Lombard and Lecco area. The exhibition will also offer a series of small portraits and miniatures of authors from the same era and other memorabilia.
In December the usual “Christmas in Villa Monastero” will return, with the presentation of a painting related to the theme of the Nativity.
