APCOM

Because of its strategic position, Lombardia's alpine region Valtellina has often been object of historical contentions. Over the centuries on its flourishing territory noble families built towns enriched with churches, palaces and sanctuaries. Hundreds of artists, both locals and not, were asked to decorate those monuments. Among the formers Pietro Ligari (1686-1752), the forefather of a painters' family, his son Cesare and his daughter Vittoria.

Their works have been gathered thanks to the exhibition 'I Ligari. Pittori del 700 lombardo', which compares their personalities and manages to find stylistic differences and similarities. The event, which will last until July 19th, takes places in two locations. At the Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, in Magenta avenue, 40 canvasses by the members of Ligari's family are divided based on subject matter: from the religious to the secular ones, from the familiar portrays to the ecclesiastic ones.

Pietro, who worked in Roma and was a disciple of Pietro da Cortona, chose bright colours and showed some classicist influences. On the other hand, Cesare (who studied in Venezia) was more innovative and Vittoria, in spite of her relatives' prestige, was quite original in devotional images.

At the Museo Diocesano the event focuses on other 14 coeval artists from Lombardia and Veneto: Andrea Pozzo, Paolo Pagani, Giacomo Parravicino (known as Gianolo), Filippo Abbiati, just to name a few. Their work is compared with that of the Ligari family and the result is a clear picture of the artistic period. The public is involved in the exhibition through the screening of videos and readings which illustrate the historical age in which the protagonists worked and lived.