The collaboration between Aeroporti di Roma and the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (GNAMC) in Rome continues, with the aim of bringing Italian art into the spaces of the country’s leading airport. Following last year’s installation of Grande folla n.1 by Giò Pomodoro, Muro Bianco by Pietro Consagra (1920–2005) was inaugurated today in the “Piazza” of Terminal 1 at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Created in 1975 in painted iron, the work was donated by the artist to the GNAMC in 1988.

The event, opened with institutional remarks by the Mayor of Fiumicino, Mario Baccini, featured speeches by Vincenzo Nunziata, Chairman of Aeroporti di Roma; Renata Cristina Mazzantini, Director of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art; and Federico Mollicone, Chairman of the Culture Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Also in attendance were Roberto Severini, President of the Fiumicino City Council, and Marco Troncone, CEO of Aeroporti di Roma.

Located at the heart of one of the most iconic and frequented spaces of Leonardo da Vinci Airport, which over the years has hosted the display of highly prestigious works such as Lorenzo Bernini’s Salvator Mundi and the 14th-century stained-glass windows attributed to Giotto, owned by the Ministry of the Interior’s Fund for Places of Worship, the sculpture by Consagra enters into dialogue with the daily flow of travellers from all over the world, transforming a place of passage into a meeting point between intercontinental mobility and Italian cultural heritage. Comprising four elements placed side by side, the work explores the relationship between surface and space and the possibility for sculpture to inhabit architecture without imposing itself upon it.

One of the leading figures in 20th century art and founder of the ‘Forma 1’ group in 1947, Pietro Consagra revolutionised traditional sculpture, creating two-dimensional works designed to be traversed by the gaze and engage in dialogue with the public. The presence of Muro Bianco at Rome Fiumicino thus places one of the masters of Italian abstraction within a contemporary and international setting, accessible to thousands of people every day.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome to the Municipality of Fiumicino a work of such significant artistic and symbolic value,” stated Mario Baccini, Mayor of Fiumicino. “Those arriving at Leonardo da Vinci Airport perceive not only the infrastructural excellence of one of Europe’s most important airports, but also the ambition to offer travellers a high-profile cultural experience. Alongside the extraordinary wonders of the Capital, the airport is part of a region that safeguards natural, archaeological and landscape heritage of unique value worldwide - making Fiumicino one of Italy’s most remarkable municipalities to visit and discover. For this reason, we are particularly pleased with the synergies that have been created between Aeroporti di Roma and our municipality: a collaboration that promotes Fiumicino’s image as an international destination deeply rooted in culture.”

‘With Pietro Consagra’s Muro Bianco, we continue a journey that in recent years has brought works by major figures of Italian art to Rome Fiumicino, from Bernini to Giotto, from Giò Pomodoro to Jago, gradually transforming the airport into a space where travel meets culture in a way that is increasingly accessible to all passengers,’ said Vincenzo Nunziata, Chairman of Aeroporti di Roma. ‘Our collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art allows us today to welcome, in the heart of Terminal 1, a work capable of offering passengers a glimpse of Italian cultural identity even before they reach their destination. This is the vision of an airport that we wish to continue building.’

‘For the second year running, the GNAMC is presenting passengers with a monumental masterpiece of Italian sculpture, Muro Bianco by Pietro Consagra, which, with its sinuous profile and striking alternation of solid and void, resonates with the rhythm of the grand hall and enhances its dynamism,’ remarked Renata Cristina Mazzantini, Director of GNAMC.

The presentation concluded with remarks by Federico Mollicone, Chairman of the Culture Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies: “This initiative marks a new and important step forward in Aeroporti di Roma’s cultural vision of transforming transit areas into true spaces devoted to beauty. Bringing the masterpieces of our history and of contemporary art — such as Consagra’s work, part of the GNAMC collection — beyond traditional exhibition venues and placing them on an international stage such as Leonardo da Vinci Airport not only enriches the travel experience, but also enhances the identity and heritage of our Nation in the eyes of the world.”

The project will continue in the coming months with the exhibition in Terminal 3 of Bifrontale or Ferro Bifrontale arancione, another significant work by Pietro Consagra from 1977, confirming the shared commitment to building a widespread programme of showcasing Italian art within Rome’s airport system.

The conservation work on both of the artist’s works was carried out by students of the Master’s Degree in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the University of Tuscia – DIBAF in Viterbo, in coordination with the Restoration Officers of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome.