Spazio Miralfiore: the Museum of Glass in the heart of the Capital of Culture for 2024
“The Nature of Culture”
On the 16th of March Pesaro was proclaimed Capital of Culture for 2024 with its project “The Nature of Culture” won over the other finalist cities.
art, environment and technology
The main theme of the submission was the relationship between art, environment and technology, imagining a town that does not exist by rethinking it from a new way of living, based on a balanced harmony between environment and city, landscape and culture.
Art, environment and culture are also the values expressed by Villa Miralfiore, a symbolic place located inside the homonym park in Pesaro that was the ancient rural residence of the Sforza family before becoming certainly one of the most beautiful spaces in the city, with its beautiful frescoed rooms, and the sumptuous Italian garden with caves, fountains and ornamental plants of various types.
Since 1992, the villa is owned by Vittorio Livi, the founder of Fiam Italia, who turned it into the company’s representative office, creating inside the Villa the Museum of Curved Glass: a space dedicated to art and design, turning 30 in 2022.
Inside the museum are unique pieces such as glass tables, mirrors and display cases: furnishing elements that are true works of art and impress all visitors. The pieces displayed are countless and were born from the collaboration with artists of international caliber, such as Gianni Colombo, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Enrico Baj, Bruno Munari, Oscar Piattella, Vasco Bendini.
Vittorio Livi’s passion for art arose when he was young boy attendeding the School of Art, where he met great masters who would have later become international artists such as Giuliano Vangi, before he started working in a local glass factory. Art has always been part of his life, leading him to found Fiam, nowadays a world-renowned brand that has made curved glass become a protagonist of design made in Italy.
In his life Vittorio Livi has always had opportunities to meet up with artists and he realized that his collection of works of art was gradually growing.
one of the landmarks of Pesaro, Capital of Culture 2024.
Hence the idea to restore Villa Miralfiore and transform a part of the property into a space where he could meet with other artists to give way to creativity together and create a museum where all their pieces would have been exposed. A considerable investment, which began with the renovation of the entire manor, both in its inner architecture and in the gardens, which has been rewarded with the amazing result achieved. One of Vittorio Livi’s biggest dreams came true.
Inside the museum are now displayed many masterpieces that are the result of the creativity of artists from all over the world who have collaborated directly with Vittorio Livi himself and with Fiam, whose remarkable technical ability in glass processing was made accessible to all these artists. Many of the artworks, indeed, would not have been possible without the collaboration with the company and the use of its advanced technologies.
The Museum of Curved Glass is unique in the world, and many of its masterpieces, such as the glass Bible by Emilio Isgrò, the glass crucifix “Jesus, energy of the world”, (made by Livi himself as a gift for Pope Francis) or the famous glass armchair Ghost by Cini Boeri, an icon of design, have been exhibited in numerous international museums.