The rediscovery of Naples’ Art Nouveau treasures

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, in Naples as in many other major European cities, a movement spread from major to applied arts, from drawing to architecture. This style in Italy took the name of "Liberty" or "Floreale", from the name of a historic London company that produced floral style furniture. In Naples, architecture is the art that is most affected by this artistic current. In the newly built neighbourhoods there are new magnificent palaces and villas, but also fashionable shops, pharmacies, bakeries, bars and pastry shops that follow this new young taste is fresh.  Among the most valuable examples, in Posillipo we find Villa Pappone (1912) which best adheres to the dictates of the new taste; in Chiaia, Via del Parco Margherita is the floral street par excellence; in Vomero there are Villas Marotta (1912), Loreley (1912), De Cristoforo (1914) and the Russian Ermolli building (1918).  Under the Vesuvius in those years "n' aria 'e primmavera" blows "n' aria 'e primmavera" (a spring air) as Salvatore Di Giacomo writes in Marzo (1898).

Inspired by the famous verses of the Neapolitan poet and playwright, the exhibition "Napoli Liberty. N'aria 'e primmavera", is open until 24 January at Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano - Gallerie d'Italia, Intesa Sanpaolo's museum in Naples. The exhibition, curated by Luisa Martorelli and Fernando Mazzocca and with the installation by Lucia Anna Iovieno, presents more than 70 works – paintings, sculptures, jewellery and various manufactures – to highlight the diffusion of the Art Nouveau style and its peculiarities in Naples, covering a period from 1889 to 1915. Giovanni Bazoli, Chairman Emeritus of Intesa Sanpaolo, states: "The exhibition celebrates the extraordinary elegance of Art Nouveau art in Naples, reminding us of the uniqueness of Italy's national heritage, an essential resource of our country. There can be no reconstruction, moral, social and economic recovery without the beauty that art and culture can give. This initiative confirms the strong bond that unites the Bank to Naples: a bond that the Gallerie d'Italia in thirteen years of intense activity have been able to strengthen, contributing to enrich the cultural offer in the city".

From painting to applied arts, from floral decorations to inlaid wood, from ceramics to jewellery, from furniture to advertising graphics. The exhibition recounts the wealth of expressions of this historical period, which may not be the best known in the Neapolitan city but which is decisive in shaping its beauty.