«Quando entro nel Furioso, veggo aprirsi una tribuna, una galleria regia, ornata di cento statue antiche de’ più celebri scultori […], di cristalli, d’agate, di lapislazzuli e d’altre gioie, e finalmente ripiena di cose rare, preziose, meravigliose»
Galileo Galilei
What did Ariosto see when he closed his eyes? Which artworks acted as muses to his imagination? These are the questions that the exhibit organized by the Ferrara Art Foundation, in commemoration of the five hundred year anniversary of the first edition of Orlando Furioso, aims to explore. Composed in Ferrara and printed in the city in 1516, the poem is one of the ultimate masterpieces of Western literature and it immediately captured the hearts of Italian and European readers alike. More than a documentary reconstruction, the exposition will be a true retrospective: an extraordinary history in images that will lead the visitor on an exciting journey through Ariosto’s universe, between battles and tournaments, knights and romances, passions and enchantments. The masterpieces of the greatest artists of the time—from Mantegna to Leonardo, from Raphael to Michelangelo to Titian—in addition to ancient and Renaissance sculptures, engravings, tapestries, weapons, books, and artefacts of extraordinary beauty and value, will bring back to life Orlando Furioso’s fantastic world of knights and warriors, at the same time offering an evocative portrait of Ferrara at the time of the work’s conception, with the dreams, wishes, and fantasies of the courtly society of the Italian Renaissance that Ariosto immortalized so magisterially.
Curated by
Guido Beltramini and Adolfo Tura
Organized by
Fondazione Ferrara Arte, MiBACT Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo e Gallerie d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Ferrara
Promoted by
Comune di Ferrara
Con il patrocinio di
Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, Regione Emilia-Romagna e Comitato Nazionale per il V Centenario dell’Orlando Furioso
Supported by
Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Ferrara
Eni partner unico della mostra e del progetto didattico “A cavallo dell’ippogrifo”
Sponsor tecnici
Aon, Axa Art, XL Catlin
