In the Alta Valle del Tevere area, besides the traces left by the ancient Romans and the Masters of the Medieval and Renasissance periods, contemporary art has found multiple ways to express itself, earning a space that places it in a unique harmony between the present and the past.
In Umbertide we find Rocca di Umbertide Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea exhibition venue dedicated to contemporary art set up in the evocative spaces of the renovated fourteenth-century fortress, which has hosted high-level events since the second half of the 1980s.
And also Museo Galleria Rometti. It traces the history of the renowned Umbertide ceramics manufacture from the first half of the twentieth century to today, with pieces designed by protagonists of last century art such as Corrado Cagli, Dante Baldelli, Mario Di Giacomo, up to today’s collaborations with artists such as Liliane Lijn, Chantal Thomass, Cèdric Ragot, Jean-Christophe Clair or Ugo La Pietra
Upon arrival in Città di Castello we are greeted by the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, housed over two sites: the fifteenth century Palazzo Albizzini and the industrial complex of the Ex Seccatoi del Tabacco [Former Tobacco Drying Sheds]. As well as displaying two hundred and fifty works of art they recount the story of one of the most prominent international artists of the twentieth century: Alberto Burri (1915-1995). Continuing, you reach the sixteenth century Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera, site of the Pinacoteca comunale, where in an entire wing the section dedicated to contemporary art can be found, made up of the collection of plaster cast models by Tiferno Elmo Palazzi (1871-1915), whose work can be admired primarily at the Città di Castello monumental Cemetery, the set of bronze sculptures by Bruno Bartoccini (1910-2001), the Giorgio Ascani (1926-2008) contribution, in Nuvolo art style, made up of fifteen pieces by the artist and donated by his family to the Città di Castello municipality in 2012, and the Ruggeri Donation, with works by, amongst others, De Chirico, De Pisis, Dottori, Carrà and Mafai. It is also worth a visit to Centro di documentazione delle arti grafiche “Grifani Donati” 1799, a focal point to learn about the art work and the artists that still practise the ancient techniques of engraving on woodcut and chalcographic plates, and design on stone to create lithographics.
Going north you arrive at San Giustino where you can find Villa Graziani which houses two permanent displays of sculptures, designs and graphics by Bruno Bartoccini (1910-2001) the sculptures of Atillio Pierelli (1924-2013), opened respectively in 2014 and 2015.
