'Dancing on the Volcano', Vesuvius and San Gennaro on display in Monaco
"Dancing on the Volcano. Life and Faith in the Shadow of Vesuvius," an exhibition about Naples through two symbols, San Gennaro and Mount Vesuvius. A way to help Germans understand the history and culture of a city they love to visit today. This exhibition opens October 6th at the Dioezesanmuseum Freising in Munich, a museum reopening after many years of renovations, focusing on the history of Naples.
"The exhibition was born ideally six years ago - Paolo Jorio, director of the Museum of San Gennaro in Naples and organizer of the exhibition, told ANSA - when I thought about the idea of conveying the cultural identity of Naples through art and artifacts. I spoke about it with the director of the Munich museum, Christoph Kuerzeder, who immediately enthusiastically accepted the idea."
Jorio, founder and director of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, as well as director of the Filangieri and Correale Museums in Sorrento, has built a path dedicated to the particular and unique geophysical structure of Naples and its intense popular spirituality.
"We start from Vesuvius - explains Jorio as the last trucks with the works of art leave for Germany - which is the natural identity that has influenced Neapolitans with destruction, fear and terror throughout history, but which has also preserved pieces of history, as happened with the covered-up ancient Pompeii.
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Neapolitans know that San Gennaro protects the city from Vesuvius, and every year on December 16th they remember that in 1631 the lava was reaching Naples after destroying Torre Annunziata. Neapolitans went out into the streets with the statue of San Gennaro and the urn of blood, which melted and stopped the lava in its tracks..
A story told by a beautiful painting lent to the exhibition by the Nuseo di San Martino in Naples, further recounting the interweavings of history and tradition in an exhibition that begins with "Dancing on the Volcano," which in German is a similar expression to the Italian "to stand on burning coals."
On display until early January are 170 works, 47 of which come from the Museum of San Gennaro, which boasts a vast collection of art displayed in its halls. Other finds also depart from the MANN, such as jewelry found during excavations, before moving on to the goldsmith masterpieces of the period dedicated to San Gennaro.
"On display there will be - explains Jorio - also paintings from the Arciconfraternitia del Pellegrini, from Filangieri, from Capodimonte and from international museums, from the Prado, to the National Gallery to the Victoria Albert British Museum".
The works of San Gennaro travel escorted by the Carabinieri and bring to Germany "not only the decoration - concludes Jorio - but also the riches produced by Vesuvius, such as coral, fertile land, and even intelligence. This exhibition represents Naples, and bringing it abroad makes me truly proud."
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