Discovering Rome through the eyes of an artist: travelling with Marcello Maloberti
Exaggerated, theatrical, steeped in Dolce Vita. Between the architecture of the Plaza and the velvets of the Caffè Greco, an itinerary that begins in the house-studio in Piazza di Spagna and unravels between archaeology and the contemporary.
I was born in Codogno and Milan is the city where I have lived for years. But in Rome I find an atmosphere that is difficult to find elsewhere. Every time I come back I make new discoveries, I smell the sea (even if it is a few kilometres away) and the scent of the sky. I am fond of the capital because it has hosted some of my most important exhibitions, at the Macro and the Maxxi. But I don't just go there for work, I have many friends: it is a city that makes me dream, it expresses an idea of unique elegance linked to its past.
My Roman life is mainly concentrated in the area around Piazza di Spagna and I have well-established habits: my days are a sort of musical refrain. Minimal, with some variations, but constant. I seek beauty, even in my choice of hotel. I really like the Plaza, 19th century, full of velvets, sculptures, stucco. This is where they filmed, among other things, the remake of The Leopard. I then frequent the Hotel de Russie, sometimes just for an aperitif, which is also excellent at the Hotel Locarno bar. I prefer historical hotels, for the atmosphere and even the smell. When I go, I am almost tempted to dress brazenly elegant, to show off my best suit, even to identify myself with another Marcello: the most famous, linked to La Dolce Vita. I admit, my Rome is a bit exaggerated, perhaps theatrical.
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Among my favourite places is the Caffè Greco with its red velvets, where de Chirico used to go, and the Caffè Rosati loved by Pasolini and the artists of the Scuola di Piazza del Popolo. For lunch or dinner, I go to Ristorante NiNo, two minutes from Piazza di Spagna: Tuscan food with some Roman influences, and a décor that has not changed one iota since the past, with waiters - always the same - in uniform. By now they know me perfectly, I always meet Ninetto Davoli here. I worked with him for two performances of mine, one at the Quadriennale in Rome and one at Pac in Milan, and we became friends. He likes my art. There are three other restaurants I love: Dal Bolognese for its exceptional pasta, the Japanese Zuma and Hostaria da Pietro, a classic Roman osteria.
On the shopping front, I happily pass by Schostal to buy pyjamas, jumpers, underwear. It's what you call the shop of yesteryear, flooded with merchandise, all of high quality, where you find the classic of classics like pyjamas with magnificent coloured piping. Basically, of Rome I appreciate these things 'of substance'. I'd like to find a tailor's shop I can trust, and for now I've been to Litrico and Fg. I must admit, however, that I always pop into Prada and Aspesi, where I recently exhibited some of my work. In fact, for me, leisure and work in Rome overlap more and more. Again in collaboration with Aspesi, I inaugurated an installation at the Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia on 6 November, curated by Cristiana Perrella.
In Rome, the artistic proposal is endless. I often go to the de Chirico Foundation, where the master's house-studio is - I have a visceral love for him and have even slept in his bed for one of my performances. My de Chirico pilgrimage continues to the Church of San Francesco a Ripa, where his tomb is located. I also go to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo to see Caravaggio's Conversion of St Paul, with that beautiful horse that seems bathed in moonlight. It was the first painting of his that I saw, reproduced in a book. I was five years old and I imagined it was the horse of the Indians, because it is dappled. In this painting there is everything that interests me: body, theatre, performance, cinema, the real of the real.
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