The thousands of people who visited Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome from 19 June to 2 September to see Georg Tappeiner’s photos were literally left speechless. In a summer which saw a packed calendar of events in the World Heritage Dolomites, the exhibition “The Dolomites, the rocky heart of the world” was a great opportunity to focus the spotlight on the mountains in the capital, thanks to the synergy between the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation and Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
WHAT’S LEFT NOW?
Everything. Georg Tappeiner’s photos, of course, published in the splendid exhibition catalogue. A fruitful partnership with Palazzo delle Esposizioni that could lead to further ventures. The amazed, almost dazed, look on the faces of the thousands of visitors who were faced with a double dose of beauty: the beauty of works of art which depict other works of art.
But it does not end there.
The success of the exhibition in Rome is also confirmation, rather paradoxically, that projects involving the Dolomites are a powerful way of exporting an image of the Dolomites that is different from that of a “natural playground”. This venture with Georg Tappeiner would never have been possible if relations with photographers had not been cultivated as they have through the network, something that the Foundation has been doing with refuge owners, producers, administrators, people involved in tourism and culture, scholars… The work can be slow, long and sometimes silent. But without it, we would never accomplish results like an exhibition (which ran for over two months in the heart of Rome) that portrays such extraordinary, powerful beauty and unique environmental, landscape and geological value. In other words: the qualities of the World Heritage must be conveyed with quality.
SO… THANKS!
First and foremost, the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation would like to thank the commissioner of Palazzo Esposizioni, Enzo Cipolletta and all his staff who worked so hard to set up and open the exhibition, starting with Director General Fabio Merosi and Daniela Picconi, Co-Director; our thanks also go to the photographer Georg Tappeiner and all the visitors who, from the day of the inauguration, crowded into the “Spazio Fontana” in the Palazzo. The success of the exhibition is indeed proof that, as Commissioner Cipolletta said during the ribbon cutting ceremony, “The Dolomites are dear to all Italians because they are a fundamental part of our landscape”.
The exhibition was supported by the Ministry of the Environment, the Italian UNESCO Commission and ICCROM, The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
AFTER ZAGREB, PRAGUE AND ROME, THE DOLOMITES MOVE ON TO ROMANIA
Before opening in Rome, Tappeiner’s photos had been exhibited in other European capitals, including Prague and Zagreb, and the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation will continue its mission to export beauty. “Extraordinary Beauty”, the photographic exhibition featuring the work of several photographers and supporters of the Foundation, was shown at the Trento Film Festival and will now move on to Oradea in Romania, thanks to an agreement with the associations “Bellunesi nel mondo” and “Trentini nel mondo”. The inauguration is scheduled for 29 September and the exhibition will run for approximately six months. This synergy is attracting more and more photographers to the Foundation: its number of supporters is growing all the time, as is their enthusiasm to organise similar projects. One example of this is the splendid exhibition “Legàmi Dolomitici (Bonds with the Dolomites)” organised by one of them, Andreas Tamanini, in Matterello (TN) showcasing the works of Alessandra Bello, Alessia Bortolameotti, Alessandro Caon, Moreno Geremetta, Nicolò Miana, Patrick Odorizzi, Franco Oliveri, Anton Sessa, Andreas Tamanini and Georg Tappeiner.
