Festival of Beauty: the Symbolic spans art and thought
The 13th edition is entering its final stage: until October, the words, memories and symbols of the 20th century will be the focus of events at various art venues
Beauty has always shaped the way we view the world. We recognise it in art, in a landscape, in words and in music, but also in the traces left by time in places and in our memories. Eras and standards may change, but the need to seek it out and ascribe meaning to it remains. The thirteenth edition of the Festival della Bellezza continues until October in the great centres of Italian art, following a tour that has taken in Venice, Milan, Verona, Rome and Sicily.
The Thread of the Symbolic
Conceived and directed by Alcide Marchioro, this year’s Festival has chosen ‘The Symbolic’ as the central theme for fifty events across 25 art venues, in keeping with the principle of ‘art within art’ that characterises the event. At Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, Dario Fabbri and Massimo Cacciari explored this year’s theme through the lenses of philosophy and geopolitics, focusing on the significance that symbols, ideas and representations hold in contemporary thought and global dynamics.
From Thought to Art
In the rooms of the Gypsotheca Antonio Canova in Possagno, where the sculptor’s work still retains its presence, Melania Mazzucco will speak of grace, taking her starting point from his creations and the places that preserve their memory, whilst Umberto Galimberti will reflect on the madness of art and love. From Anselm Kiefer, a reflection on ruins, on matter and on what survives the wounds of history, eventually transforming into poetry.
Memory and the Twentieth Century
The programme will also feature Carlo Scarpa, who is the focus of a project dedicated to his work and the significance of symbolism in his architecture. At the Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Giordano Bruno Guerri will recount the lives of the Futurists and the drive of an avant-garde movement that sought to transform art and society. The closing event will take place on 8 October at the Arengario of the Museo del Novecento in Milan, featuring Maria Vittoria Baravelli and *I discorsi belli*. Stories and works will serve as a starting point for exploring the power of words and their ability to reshape our perspective – a return to the question that runs through the entire festival: the meaning we ascribe to things. From Surrealism to Canova, from psychoanalysis to the avant-garde, the Symbolic thus becomes the thread running through a Festival that seeks part of its narrative within the realms of art.
Organised by the Idem – Percorsi di Relazione association, the Festival is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and promoted by the Veneto Region as part of its ‘Grandi Eventi’ programme. The main partner is Generali with Valore Cultura, which in 2026 will celebrate ten years of commitment to supporting art and culture.
