“Often a mask tells us more than a face.”
Oscar Wilde
Masks are queens at this time of year.
Abano Terme boasts the “Amleto e Donato Sartori” International Museum of the Mask, which houses a precious collection of theatre masks produced by the sculptors Amleto and Donato Sartori, as well as an extraordinary quantity of other masks, artefacts and works from all over the world and obtained through travels and cultural exchanges. The heritage of the mask, in this unique museum, is put to the test by comparing cultures over time.
The Sartori Family is present until 15 May at the exhibition “Il Carnevale squarcia la nebbia. Venice, Scaparro, La Biennale 1980, 1981, 1982, 2006” with a selection of masks. Among the videos and documents on display, an original sketch by Donato Sartori, part of the Biennale Archives, which the artist made for the first Urban Mask in St Mark’s Square in 1980, stands out in particular.
The exhibition is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm (exceptionally open on Sunday 27th of February with free admission) at Portego Ca’ Giustinian in Venice and is a tribute to the 90th birthday of Maurizio Scaparro, Italian director, theatre critic and professor born in 1932.
Rare images, vintage videos, flamboyant costumes, works of art, historical articles from newspapers around the world, all in the magnificent setting of Palazzo Giustinian, a 15th-century Venetian palace overlooking the Grand Canal and headquarters to the Biennale di Venezia.
The Centro Maschere e Strutture Gestuali, now directed by Sarah Sartori, daughter of the founder Donato Sartori, is recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and supported by the Administration of the city of Abano Terme. They are always looking for artists, intellectuals and young collaborators to create new masks and for multimedia performances of various kinds. A world few minutes far from the AbanoRitz and to discover on your next wellness break.
