Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, October 26 2019 – On Sunday 27 October at 11am, councilor Roberta Cocco (Digital Transformation and Civic Services) will participate in the last appointment of the "Open-air Museum" event at the Monumental Cemetery.

The initiative, promoted by the Municipality of Milan and carried out by Fondazione Milano – Civic Schools present with graduates and students of the Claudio Abbado Civic School of Music, the Luchino Visconti Civic School of Cinema and the Paolo Grassi Civic School of Theatre, has reached its fifth edition and this year it reached over 10 thousand participants.

On Sunday 27 October the day will start at 10am from the external square, from which two types of guided tours will depart to satisfy the curiosity of visitors who are approaching the Monumental Cemetery for the first time or who want to know more about its artistic and of its heritage of historical memories.

With thematic walks, in the company of protagonists of today's Milan, the public will be accompanied to discover the past: at 10.30 Marco Scavone, president of the Milan Group of the National Association of Sailors of Italy, together with Professor Dario Passeri (Honorary President ), will lead a journey on “The Sailors and the Navy in Milan”; at 11 am the “Resistance and destiny” walk will start. The intertwined stories" curated by Francesco Cappa, professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca, dedicated to the intertwined destinies of men and women who made history in the years of war and resistance to the violence and injustice of fascism; at 11.30 Valeria Celsi, writer, tourist guide and creator of the "Funeral Art Routes" project, will accompany the public to discover "The Mysteries of the Monumental" between funerary art and Milanese legends; at 12 Marco Rana, Oscar Mondadori editor, will retrace, in the path entitled "Drawing books", the unrepeatable season of entrepreneurial initiative and creativity of post-war Milan, from Bob Noorda to Ulrico Hoepli, from Bruno Munari to Giovanni Scheiwiller and Arnoldo Mondadori ; at 15pm Emilio Sala, professor of musicology at the University of Milan, will present "The musical Milan of Verdi, Boito-Faccio and Toscanini".

Also from the external square will be the start of the themed guided tours organized by the students of the Brera Academy, the volunteers of the Civil Service and the employees of the Monumental Cemetery: at 10 am and at 14.30 pm the students of the “Camillo Boito” Restoration School of the Accademia di Brera will accompany visitors on a brief reconnaissance of the restoration site housed in a little-known corner of the Monumental; at 12.30 you can "Know the Monumental in seven steps" with Boriana Valcinova; at 15.30 pm it will be possible to follow the visit "Fashion at the Monumentale" curated by Katia Castellazzi and at 16 pm undertake a "Short journey to the Monumentale" through the artistic trends that have occurred at the Monumentale in 150 years of history, curated by Daniele Capovilla .

All walks and guided tours are free and can be booked at the gazebo starting from 9.30 am until the maximum number per group is reached.

Throughout the day, the documentary by the Civica Scuola di Cinema 'Luchino Visconti' entitled "The Measure of Paradise" will be screened in the conference room. Leonardo at the court of Ludovico il Moro”. The documentary retraces a lesser-known side of Leonardo's artistic activity, that of an 'entertainer' at the service of the Milanese court of Ludovico il Moro, amidst culture, splendor and intrigue. Here is a Leonardo as a musician, set designer and costume designer of ceremonies, rides and banquets, such as the Festa del Paradiso, the marvelous machinery for the wedding between Giangaleazzo and Isabella in 1490.

The theater program presents two theatrical shorts, written and performed ad hoc by graduates of the Paolo Grassi Civic Theater School. The protagonists of the short plays are the famous buried people of the cemetery who meet contemporary citizens, creating, through the ritual of the theatre, a small short circuit with the afterlife.

At 11am and 15pm, in the external western staircase, "A disturbing woman" will be staged - by Luca Rodella with Sara Zanobbio and music by Giulia Bertasi -  in which the divine Wanda Osiris descends once again from monumental stairs! And the magical atmospheres of the magazine and the variety show return to the fore with her. Between memories, anecdotes and songs, today's beloved audience allows her, after years of absence, to learn the most important lesson she has ever had from the stage: what being 'divas' really means for those around you.

At 12pm and 16pm, in the upper eastern gallery, “Big Ben said stop!” will be presented. - by Luca Rodella with Luca D'Addino and music by Giulia Bertasi - which will allow one of the most successful programs on Italian television to be seen again on these screens, namely the timeless Portobello! The original one however, since it will be presented at the Monumental Cemetery of Milan by Enzo Tortora himself, who once again returns to us and will be able to debut this time too with his famous phrase "Where were we left?", to take back the reins of his beloved show. But what twist of fate lies behind this unexpected return? Let's find out among the columns of his program.

The musical program curated by students and graduates of the Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado will present the ancient music concert "Ad Astra" performed by the Pyrigon Ensemble - Caterina Chiarcos, soprano at 12.30 in the small church; Margherita Burattini, harp; Iris Fistarollo, viola da gamba.

The day ends at 16.45pm in the Upper West Gallery with the concert organized by the Civic Jazz Courses of the Claudio Abbado Civic School of Music in which the Francesco Nava Trio - Francesco Nava, vocals; Alexandro Sentinelli, piano; Emiliano Amadori, double bass - will propose a repertoire ranging from Swing, to Italian Jazz, to Bebop, involving spectators in a carefree and fun atmosphere.

This last appointment closes the 2019 edition of the event which every last Sunday of the month, from May to October, made it possible to discover and rediscover in an unusual way one of the city's art treasures and memories.

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