Photography, a Matrix for two Exhibitions
Le ville venete (1952) by Giuseppe Mazzotti and Les villas de la Vénétie (1954) by Michelangelo Muraro
abstract
Le ville venete touring photo exhibition, which opened in Treviso in 1952 with the curatorial support of Giuseppe Mazzotti, was transferred to Paris in 1954, where it was curated by Michelangelo Muraro and was given a new format and a new title: Les villas de la Vénétie. Both exhibitions aimed to demonstrate the importance of ancient villas, by highlighting their original characteristics and the territorial value they had not only for Veneto, but also for Italy. Although it was used for quite different purposes, photography played a central role in both exhibitions. By drawing on a number of sources, primarily those found in the Fondazione Giuseppe Mazzotti per la civiltà veneta (the Giuseppe Mazzotti’s Foundation for Venetian Civilization) and in the Treviso State Archives, it was possible to provide a more accurate and clearer understanding of the works of the two different photo series featured in those exhibitions, of the different venues where they were made available for circulations and of the goals of the two curators.
Keywords: Exhibition • Photography • Venetian villas • Michelangelo Muraro • Giuseppe Mazzotti