Roi Wing: a new treasure for Vicenza

The opening of the Roi Wing at the Museo Civico Palazzo Chiericati represents a moment of extraordinary importance for Vicenza and its visitors. This new exhibition space, dedicated to the Marquis Giuseppe Roi, a friend and great patron and supporter of art, is the result of a careful restoration and renovation project and celebrates the artistic heritage of the city through a rich and fascinating narrative that spans centuries of art, history and culture.

The Ala Roi houses over 300 works of art of the highest level, offering an extraordinary overview of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

For the seventeenth century, the works of Saraceni, Cairo, Vermiglio and the magnificent Allegory of the Four Ages (ca. 1625) by Antoon Van Dyck stand out, a jewel of his Italian period. The baroque season finds its peak in the paintings of Pietro Della Vecchia, Francesco Maffei and Giulio Carpioni, whose canvas with the famous putto with soap bubbles represents the fragility and lightness of human existence. The exhibition itinerary continues with a crescendo of pictorial masterpieces.

The eighteenth century lights up with the grandeur of Piazzetta and Cignaroli, culminating in the extraordinary Truth revealed by Giambattista Tiepolo’s Time. Following is the unique corpus of terracotta and terracruda sketches by Orazio Marinali and his workshop, flanked by busts and sculptures in marble, stone and plaster. In the Gallery of Capricci and Landscapes, the paintings of masters such as Marco and Sebastiano Ricci, Carlevarijs and Zais dialogue with furnishings and decorative arts, evoking the elegance of ambient museography.

One of the most evocative sections is the one dedicated to the Vicenza textile tradition. The large air-conditioned display case houses the precious Marasca collection, a legacy from 1873 which documents the excellence of local silk production between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through drawings, samples and fabrics, alongside embroidered silk clothes and accessories. This insight into the productive history of the city is enriched by portraits showing painted fabrics in perfect harmony with the collection, such as the eighteenth-century one of Minerva Trissino del Vello d’Oro.

The nineteenth century closes the journey with the portraits of Giovanni Busato and the works of the engraver Bartolomeo Bongiovanni, testifying to an era of transition and new artistic ferment.

The restoration of the wing, started almost ten years ago, marks a unitary and coherent path, where the lighting technology and the modern layout enhance the works and offer an engaging experience. The visit takes place as a journey between memories and beauty, guided by chromatic solutions and thematic itineraries designed for every type of audience.

This opening is part of a profound transformation project of the museum, which will be completed with the renovation of the reception spaces and the recovery of the internal courtyard for public use: the objective is to make Palazzo Chiericati a citadel of arts and culture in the heart of Vicenza, where past and present intertwine in a story capable of enchanting every visitor.

Some of the masterpieces on display

Domenico Peterlin, Dante in esilio

Domenico Peterlin, Dante in esilio, 1860-1865

Antoon Van Dyck, Le quattro età dell’uomo

Antoon Van Dyck, Le quattro età dell’uomo, 1625 -1627

Pietro Roi, Giulietta e Romeo

Pietro Roi, Giulietta e Romeo, 1882

Pietro Della Vecchia, Il chiromante

Pietro Della Vecchia, Il chiromante, 1650

Giambattista Tiepolo, La Verità svelata dal Tempo

Giambattista Tiepolo, La Verità svelata dal Tempo, 1745

Giulio Carpioni, Allegoria della Fragilità

Giulio Carpioni, Allegoria della Fragilità, 1660-1670

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Giovanni Busato La contessa Beatrice Salvi Anselmi

Giovanni Busato, La contessa Beatrice Salvi Anselmi, 1857

Giovanni Busato, Ritratto di Guido Garbinati

Giovanni Busato, Ritratto di Guido Garbinati, 1874

Francesco Cairo Erodiade con la testa del Battista

Francesco Cairo, Erodiade con la testa del Battista, 1634-1635

Giambattista Piazzetta, Estasi di San Francesco

Giambattista Piazzetta, Estasi di San Francesco, 1729

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