L’Eco del Classico

Curated by Maria Fratelli, Giuseppe Parello e Maria Serena Rizzo

  • Studio Museo Francesco Messina - Milano
  • 20 July 2018 - 21 October 2018

The Studio Museo Francesco Messina hosts an extraordinary group of more than 150 recent finds from the Valley of the Temples, next to pieces from the Pietro Griffo Museum of Agrigento, the collections of the Culture Department of Agrigento and the collection of ancient art pieces of Francesco Messina, preserved by the Archaeology Department of Milan, in connection with the classic works by the Sicilian sculptor.

The layout of the exhibition presents archaeological finds dated from 6th century BC to 14th century AD, in nave of the former Church of Saint Sisto. Next to them, there are precious fragments of the recent and extraordinary discoveries of the theatre and sanctuary of the ancient polis Akragas, todays Agrigento, as well as some artefacts that Francesco Messina has been collecting during his life.
In the lower ground floor, the reconstruction of part of an archaeological excavation, offers a fascinating glimpse of the everyday life in the ancient town.
The exhibition lights up with the light and breath of Sicily the works by the Sicilian sculptor, to whom the museum is dedicated and underlines the permanence of the Classicism of the Twentieth Century, by juxtaposing his works with the ancient artefacts.