The Room of Marvels
An important and also very unusual exhibition in the prestigious setting of Palazzo Strozzi.The Room of Marvels, promoted by the City of Florence Councillor for Culture and organized by Contemporanea, Centre of Risearch and Promotion of Urban Environments, financed by the Banca Toscana, analyses and narrates the genesis and evolution of that incredible relationship between "the centres" of trade, the Guilds and the city that made mercantile and artisticFlorence a recognized city prototype, and also describes the evolution of shops, as "containers" of desires and their relations with their consumer-users.
The exhibition describes the evolution of the relationship between consumer products and art in Florence. This "journey through the various epochs in the history of art of the city" proposes a reconstruction, through a series of historical contributions and documents from some of the most important archives, of the history of the premises used for selling these products (workshops, shops, markets, etc.), retracing the most important stages in an economic development that has always been closely linked to artistic, urban, social and cultural changes, often decisive factors in that "civic magnificence" that made the city a planetary model. The idea is to totally involve the visitor in the succession of "Rooms of marvels" which display some of the finest moments in the city's history, when Florence was one of the most important cities in the world.
The exhibition, set up in a suggestive arrangement by architects Patrizia Pietrogrande and Eugenio Martera, takes place in the rooms on the first floor of Palazzo Strozzi, each one of which contains a large glass case that acts both as a screen and projector of images, texts or container for the objects on display and completes the external environment where the icon-objects marking the development of that period are displayed.
The exhibition is set up in 5 historical sections showing the principal stages in this evolution: Middle Ages and early Renaissance, the Medici Grand Duchy, the rule of the Lorraine princes and the early 19th century, Florence capital of Italy up to the post war period, the 1950-60's (G.B.Giorgini, White Room), the 1960's (Pucci) and the avantegarde movements (Archizoom), the present day.The Room of Marvels. The Art of trade in Florence, from mediaeval stalls to virtual stores. Palazzo Strozzi. Hours 11-19. Closed on Mondays. Entrance free. January 16th-February 28th.
