Last day in Bologna- visit to the Modern Art Museum

Thursday October 27 was another sunny and warm day with a high of 23C.   We decided to visit the Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna (Modern Art Museum of Bologna) (MAMbo).  It was about a 15 minute walk from our apartment in a part of town called Manifattura delle arti District (Factory of the Arts District).   It covers about 100,000 square metres.  The area was the city's port between the Renaissance and the 19th century and with its canals, was also the mercantile and manufacturing heart of the city until the end of the 17th century.  

MAMbo was originally one of three museums that came under the aegis of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna of Bologna, founded in 1925.  MAMbo came into existence as a separate entity for  contemporary and experimental art in the 1990s.  It moved to new premises within the shell of a former industrial bakery (built 1914), which opened in 2007.

The museum did not open until 2:00 p.m. on Thursdays, so we went for a walk in the neighbourhood first.

Park area and old Canal behind MAMbo

Another view 

The old water canals in Bologna- from the 16th century 

Old canal behind MAMbo

We walked to the Cinema Lumiere, Cineteca and Film Library complex in another old manufacturing building.

Loved this poster of Agnes Varda

What's on at Cinema Lumiere, 

Entrance into courtyard 

Outside of Cinema Lumiere, Cineteca and Film Library in an old tobacco factory

Entrance to Cinema Lumiere- great Hitchcock posters in Italian

Outside posters- Rome-Open City, a classic

At 2:00 p.m. we headed over to MAMbo.  Very modern entrance and main floor.

Tickets- one part of the entrance

Entrance area

There was a great permanent exhibit of mostly Italian contemporary artists.

Francesco Vezzoli (Brescia, 1971), Homage to the Hollywood squares (featuring Bridget Riley), 2008

We had seen an exhibit of Lisetta Carmi's work in Torino.  MAMbo had a number of her photographs from her most acclaimed project, which became a book published in 1972, dedicated to Genoese transvestites.

Lisetta Carmi (Genova 1924-Cisternino, 2022), I travestiti, 1965-1967

Alberto Tadiello (Venice, 1983), Inoculato, 2018

Gilbert (Bolzano, 1943)  & George (Plymouth, Devon 1942), Sleeping, 1991

Concetto Pozzati (Padova, 1935- Bologna, 2017), Grande Spettacolo ortogonale, 1963

Francis Offman (Butare, Rwanda, 1987), Untitled, 2017

Since 2012, MAMbo has also temporarily housed the Museo Morandi which displays a large collection of works by Giorgio Morandi.  Morandi was born in Bologna in 1890.  He spent almost his whole life working as a painter and etcher in a small studio- flat in Bologna that he shared with his three sisters.   Except for some trips abroad for exhibitions of his paintings, or summer excursions to Grizzana, Morandi scarcely ever left Bologna.  Even though he was very reserved, his paintings came to be known and in demand throughout Europe and North America.  He taught at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Bologna for 26 years.  He died in his house in Bologna in June 1963.

We had seen a wonderful exhibit of Morandi's work entitled Morandi. Infinite Resonance at Casa Milà in Barcelona in March, 2022.  Such beautiful, elegant pieces.  

Still Life, 1947

Still Life, 1948

Still Life, 1956

Flori, 1946

Grande natura morta con la lampada a petrolio, 1930

Still Life, 1933- etching on copper

Still Life, 1964-- last painting before Morandi died

There was a section of photographs by Belgium artist Jean-Michel Folon (1934-2005), Lo studio di Morandi, Bologna, 1979-Grizzana 1984), taken in Morandi's studio in Bologna and his summer home in Grizzana.  Folon visited the studio in 1979, 15 years after Morandi's death.  Morandi's sisters had kept the studio intact.  Folon took photographs in the studio and also in Morandi's Grizzana studio.  In 1999, Folon donated 37 of his photographs to the Morandi Museum.  

 Objects used in Morandi's paintings

Paesaggio, 1961

There was one more room of contemporary art to visit.

Claudio Parmiggiani (b. Luzzara, Reggio Emilia, 1943), Untitled, 1998.  

There was a large collage and acrylic piece completed eight years after Palmiro Togliatti (Genova, 1893-Yalta, 1964) died in 1964.  Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death. There are many politicians and intellectuals from Italian and International Communist history mixing with the crowd in the painting.  In 1974, the artist donated the work to the Italian Communist Party, requesting that it be deposited and exhibited permanently at Bologna's Modern Art Gallery.

Renato Gattuso (Palermo,1911- Roma, 1987) Funerali di Togliatti, 1972

Identification of the portraits in Funerali di Togliatti

Franco Angeli (Rome 1935-1988), Corteo, 1968- created against the backdrop of student protests

Sergio Lombardo (b. Rome, 1939) Untitled --
General Charles de Gaulle's silhouette, one of Lombardo's Typical Gestures series,
 which he worked on from 1961-1963.

We went back to the apartment and then wandered a bit further down our street.  We came across Trattoria Da Me, dating back to 1937.  We thought it looked interesting as a place for dinner and it was only one minute from the apartment. We got a reservation for 7:30 p.m. at one of the last outside tables.

Trattoria Da Me

The restaurant had its own home made pasta place next to it.  Alonso had the tagliatelle with ragù and I had tortellini in brodo.  We shared a tomato salad along with a nice glass of wine.

Last dinner in Bologna

We returned to the apartment to finish packing.  We have a 9:45 a.m. flight to Paris and then a 2:05 p.m. flight to Toronto.  Due in at 4:05 p.m.

We had a wonderful trip.  This time, the weather was a real plus.  Only one full rain day and a few cloudy days. For the rest of the trip it was sunny and much warmer than we expected.  Each city we visited was unique and we enjoyed the regional differences both in food and culture.  We learned that folks in towns with an Eataly store don't really go there- they rather go to their local food stores or markets, but they will visit an Eataly in cities away from Italy.  

The trains are great- run on time and very reasonable.  We advise booking the longer inter-city trips in advance, as those trains can get full fast.  One train we were on had been oversold.  However, there is no need to book short day trips if there are many trains on the route.  For example, there were trains every 20 minutes to Ferrara from Bologna.  We were very happy with our itinerary and also with our Airbnbs.  The key thing is to look for a good location--- we were within walking distance of almost everything we wanted to see or do in each city.  Torino, Alba, Genova and Bologna are all worth a visit.  Our one surprise was discovering that the air quality in Northern Italy is not good.  Industry and geographic location are factors.  Toronto scores very well on air quality by comparison. 

Thank you all for following our adventures.  We hope to see many of you in person soon!!

p.s.  I am posting this blog on Sunday October 30.  Our flights home went well.  On time arrivals and our plane from Paris to Toronto was brand new.  Of course, during our two hour stopover  in Paris, we both kept thinking- here we are in Paris and we're not staying for a visit!  C'est la vie.   One can't do everything.

Ciao for now!