Monteverdi hotel in Tuscany unveils a new contemporary art gallery by Foster + Partners
Foster+Partners’ gallery at Monteverdi hotel will be inaugurated with an exhibition curated by Sarah McCrory
![monteverdi tuscany gallery](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ny2tqsjyHrmTemtcnuSEL5-415-80.jpg)
Talk about patronage of the arts and the conversation will inevitably turn to the Renaissance. When the period was at its most artistically fertile, noble families – usually based in Florence, like the Medicis – would pay artists to create work, often putting them up in their city palazzos or countryside villas to do so. That tradition still exists today, though admittedly it looks a little different. There are still benefactors populating Tuscany with artists, but now, many are hosted in luxury hotels, where they are given time and space to create work. Among such benefactors is hotel Monteverdi, which is now opening a gallery space designed by London’s Foster+Partners to exhibit the work of artists who have held residencies at the property over the past several years.
Monteverdi is set within the Val D’Orcia, part of a 22-acre Unesco World Heritage Site. To reach it, you must wind past olive groves and quiet rural towns until you get to the village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro, and begin to ascend to the top of a steep hill.
On first approach, the hilltop hotel resembles a quaint stone village – and in fact, it once was. Yet the settlement had been mostly abandoned for decades before Monteverdi opened in 2012. The hotel now functions as an albergo diffuso (a ‘scattered hotel’) with 31 rooms, two restaurants, a bar, a spa and a wellness centre dotted about in onetime homes and community buildings. On 7 May 2024, a contemporary art gallery was added to that list, and will show the work of the many artists who have spent time here.
Curator Sarah McCrory on Monteverdi’s new art gallery
To realise both the artist residencies and now the gallery, Monteverdi sought the advice of London-based curator Sarah McCrory, the director of Goldsmiths Center for Contemporary Art and former director of the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art. Alongside Monteverdi owner Michael L Cioffi, McCrory’s vision for the gallery was simple. ‘A lot of my work has been commissioning artists but also working with them throughout their careers at different stages,’ she explains. ‘One of the reasons Michael and I had a connection is that we are curious about what happens when you work closely with an artist [over a long period] and what impact an exhibition or a situation can have on their future career?’
With the residencies – which have hosted luminaries including Asteroid City director Wes Anderson and playwright Jeremy O Harris – and now the gallery, McCrory is keen to realise her mission of helping artists develop their practice simply by giving them space to work and to be seen.
The inaugural show includes the world of artists Patrizio Di Massimo, Monster Chetwynd, Laure Prouvost, Matt Connors, Ansel Krut, Billy Sullivan and Linder, all of whom have spent time at Monteverdi.
‘Many of the artists either explicitly or almost subconsciously have referred to the amazing site in Val D’Orcia,’ says McCory of the upcoming show. ‘Monster Chetwynd came on a residency and used the chapel as a studio. Her practice usually is quite large-scale performance productions. But for this, she wanted to kind of retreat slightly and have a moment of pause. She ended up working on a body of paintings called Bat Opera, featuring bats as operatic characters.’
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Patrizio Di Massimo was also inspired by the ancient chapel. According to McCrory, ‘He created a series of works of saints because he was influenced by the proximity of the gallery to the chapel. When he was rummaging around, he found a drawer of very old vestments. He included some of these priests’ vestments in his exhibition, alongside his paintings of Joan of Arc and St Peter.’
Monteverdi’s new purpose-designed gallery space is by Foster+Partners. ‘We have upgraded the building to the state-of-the-art standards of a world-class museum while respecting its heritage and history,’ says Nigel Dancey, head of the studio at Foster + Partners, who sourced 90 per cent of the project’s materials within a 100-mile radius. ‘Our approach was to preserve and retain as much of the existing historic fabric through an extremely light touch intervention that allows the artworks to be the natural focus of the project within the historic and natural context of the Tuscan countryside.’
Indeed, a connection to the landscape was an integral part of the new design, which left the drystone walls, vaulted ceilings and original wooden beams in situ. ‘We’ve also kept the windows out onto the valley, so there’s still a connection with the outdoors,’ says McCrory. ‘We didn’t want the gallery to be a conventional white box because nothing about Monteverdi is neutral. It’s all very heavily influenced by its history, culture and landscape. So, the windows open out onto this incredible view, meaning the art is always in conversation with that. And the architects acknowledged that.’
The opening exhibition will run from 16 May until 26 May 2024 at Monteverdi Tuscany, monteverdituscany.com
Laura May Todd, Wallpaper's Milan Editor, based in the city, is a Canadian-born journalist covering design, architecture and style. She regularly contributes to a range of international publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Azure and Sight Unseen, and is about to publish a book on Italian interiors.
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Surrender to these six swim-perfect outdoor hotel pools
Discover the best outdoor hotel pools, from Amankila’s aquatic triptych by Ed Tuttle to Nicolas Party’s swimmable artwork at Le Sirenuse
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Serenity reigns at Porto Ercole’s La Roqqa hotel
Studio Palomba Serafini has designed La Roqqa, a new hotel in Italy’s Porto Ercole, with retro nods, Tuscan flair and contemporary luxury
By Nicola Leigh Stewart Published
-
New hotel Palazzo Cordusio is a tribute to Milan’s enduring panache
Palazzo Cordusio, Gran Meliá’s Milan hotel debut, is set within a neo-classical icon moments from some of the city’s best-known landmarks
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Contraste restaurant in Milan is a beautiful cacophony of colour, form and texture
Michelin-starred Contraste restaurant reopens its doors following a vibrant renovation by Debonademeo
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Dive into Nicolas Party’s otherworldly art at Le Sirenuse swimming pool in Positano
Le Sirenuse unveils its latest site-specific commission, a breathtaking swimming pool completely reimaged by figurative artist Nicolas Party
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Revisiting Palazzo Margherita, Francis Ford Coppola’s Italian hideout
Palazzo Margherita is a magical retreat in Southern Italy’s lesser-known Basilicata region, designed by the Coppola family and Jacques Grange
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Palazzo Roma embodies the heritage of Roman noblesse
Palazzo Roma, part of the Shedir Collection, boasts eclectic and eccentric interiors by Giampiero Panepinto
By Luke Abrahams Published
-
Trattoria del Ciumbia adds flavour to Milan’s Brera district
Trattoria del Ciumbia, with interiors by Dimorestudio, is hot on Italian specials – from design to pasta
By Sofia de la Cruz Published