L’istinto della formica

L’istinto della formica (The instinct of the ant): modern art of the Benedictine collections from the depots of the castle. By Barbara Mancuso

From the collaboration between the Comune of Catania, Assessorato ai Saperi e bellezza condivisa and the Ateneo of Catani is born an exhibition that enhances the art collections of Civic museum Castello Ursino

«In these collection, like in every other collection by monks, you can see the instict of the ant to collect – with same passion – the grain of wheat and the useless piece of wood: an happy instinct from which are born these first collections»,with these words Dominique Vivant-Denon, museum director of Louvre, described the museum of benedictine monks of St. Nicolò l’Arena monastery in Catania, after having visited it in 1779.

The show is the result of the recent studies about the variety and the story of the collection. It suggests how rich and wide was the original one, showing the works donated by Donato Del Piano, the eastern terracotta, the Calatine ceramics.

The art works could be admired together with the known paintings, already showed, such as: “Profeta di Ribera”, two “Storie del buon Samaritano” by Siracusa painter Mario Minniti; a wonderful “Tobiolo e l’angelo”; the “Ritratto di gentiluomo” by Domenico Theothokopoulos, called El Greco.

Sections of the exhibition
Il monastero e il museo dei benedettini (The monastery and the museum of benedictine monks) | Il nucleo dei dipinti Del Piano (The paintings of Donato del Piano) | Un museo all’insegna della varietà (A museum in spirit of variety) | Le opere descritte dalle fonti ottocentesche (The art works described by sources of the 1800s) | I bozzetti delle pale d’altare per la chiesa di San Nicolò (The sketches of the paintings of the altar of the church of  | Le pitture dei Primitivi e il Medioevo (Paintings of Middle Age) | Copie dall’antico (Copies from ancient time)