Portugal – “Festa Barocca” exhibition showcases the old Italian courts

“Festa Barocca” is an exhibition organised by the cultural association “Invito a Corte” (invitation to court), and the Generali Foundation, also in collaboration with the music school of Lisbon’s National Conservatory. It will be opened, with a pre-inauguration, on Wednesday 7 December at 6:30 p.m. by the director of Lisbon’s Italian Cultural Institute, Luisa Violo, and the director of the Palacio Nacional da Ajuda, Jose Alberto Ribeiro.  The exhibit, which will open its doors to the public on 19 January at Palacio Nacional da Ajuda, featuring Italian culture paying homage to Portugal. The palace hosting it represents the symbol of both cultures. Built as a reception house of the Portuguese Royal Family, it has hosted and is still opening its doors to major institutional ceremonies. A special installation has been set up evoking the ancient ceremonial feasts held in Italian courts, which started during the Renaissance and became even more spectacular in Baroque times. Italy’s concept of celebration was later disseminated across Europe, and then across continents. Once the Court of Portugal arrived in Brazil, many aspects of the European feasts were transformed and interpreted in what today has become the great tradition of the Brazilian Carnival. The exhibition “Festa Barocca” illustrates and presents Italian history, art and culture, through the reconstruction of the sumptuous dresses and the elements making up Italian Courts in Baroque times. Curator of the exhibition and coordinator of the project is Fausto Fornasari. The exhibition was installed by King Studio and Invito a Corte, the latter being in charge of the general organisation of the event. The Piccolin Ensemble, made up by the students of the Escola de Musica do Conservatorio Nacional de Lisboa, under the direction of Professor Helena Raposo, will perform in a period music concert playing pieces by Mazzocchi, Monteverdi, Rossi and Luzzaschi.