"Appunti di Bellezza" Exhibition

So, a few days ago I was visiting an exhibition of Japanese Dolls in Rome, when I noticed a flyer promoting an interesting event dedicated to the celebrations of the 150 years of diplomatic relationships between Italy and Japan-- My Nobu-radar blinked furiously as I recognized his kamon on the flyer, and so two days later I was in lovely Urbino to visit the exhibition and, fortunately, have a nice talk with one of the artists, Paola Ghirotti.

The exhibition is divided in two sections, the first is dedicated to the pictures of Paola Ghirotti, the second to the "ceramic statues" of Marcello Pucci.
The pictures of Paola are a recollection of her various experiences in Japan; part of them were used for her exhibition in Gifu "Coincidenze: Italia no Bi/ Japan no Bi", where the author investigated the concept of beauty comparing two historical figures, Nobunaga and Federico da Montefeltro, two "cruel conquerors" who strongly characterized their times, also contributing for the cultural and artistic development of their cities.
Thus the concept of the "connections", given by juxtaposing pictures from two related matsuri: the Jidai Matsuri of Kyoto and the Festa del Duca of Urbino, both of them connected by the original location of the exhibition, the Museum of Fine Arts of Gifu.

Time ago I posted about the similarities between Nobunaga and "The Prince" of Machiavelli, suggesting a connection between the "new ideal" of the ruler during the Italian Reinassance, and its belated, unexpected application in the warlords of Sengoku era; Paola takes this suggestion to a more ideal concept, focusing on the importance that both Federico and Nobunaga gave to "beauty" and how culture and art could provide a better surrounding, contributing to the improvement of civilization starting from its most genuine roots to expand into exotic contaminations.
In this sense, the exhibition is a visual correspondence between symbols of Japanese culture and Italian culture: the faces of soldiers, courtladies, weapons or fans-- A research focused on the idea that, yes, beauty is indeed subjective, but there are things that can be considered "universally beautiful", as our very souls recognize them as so, even when they come in different forms.

The exhibition will be up until January 8. The location is the Casa della Poesia of Urbino, and the accessing hours are 10-13/15-19. Besides the exhibitions, a series of conferences and events are dedicated to various aspects of Japanese culture, you can check the whole schedule here.
A visit is highly encouraged!!