In the heart of , where architectural history meets contemporary cultural debate, an exhibition destined to provoke discussion and reflection opens to the public: a broad survey dedicated to the city's public monuments, true identity markers of the urban space.
The exhibition presents a complex investigation into the form of civic memory: commemorative sculptures, preparatory models, design drawings, archival materials, and photographic apparatus interact to reconstruct over a century of social and political transformations. It is not simply an aesthetic journey, but a layered reading of the urban landscape.
From the post-unification nineteenth century to the experimental art of the twentieth century, public monuments emerged as tools for collective narrative. Each statue recounts an era: heroes of the Risorgimento, civic figures, secular symbols, and memorials reflect the cultural and political priorities of their time. The city thus reveals itself as an open-air museum, often passed through absentmindedly but rarely observed with awareness.
The exhibition, housed in the historic Sala del Senato, invites us to reconsider the role of public space in the construction of contemporary identity. The works are not isolated, but inserted into a system of relationships: urban planning, patronage, social consensus, and architectural transformations interact, creating a dynamic image of Turin.
Particularly evocative is the presence of cartographic and visual aids that allow visitors to orient themselves in the city's monumental geography, offering a new, emotional map of the Piedmontese capital. The result is an exhibition that combines historical rigor and narrative accessibility, designed for both scholars and curious citizens.
With this exhibition, Palazzo Madama confirms its vocation as a place for reflection on urban cultural identity, transforming its monumental heritage into living matter, capable of speaking to the present.