The director of RUFA – Rome University of Fine Arts, Architect Dr. Fabio Mongelli, has been awarded the prestigious title of “Academician of Honor” by the Academy of Fine Arts “Pietro Vannucci” of Perugia. In the frame of the Aula Magna of Ercole Farnese, a total of nine personalities have been added to the long and prestigious list (about 300 names), pride of the Institute of Higher Artistic Education of Umbria, for merit and honor. Among the personalities chosen are: Toni Bellucci (artist), Oscar Piattella (artist), Nicoletta Spagnoli (entrepreneur), Marco Tirelli (artist), Maria Cristina De Angelis (cultural manager), Giovanna Giubbini (manager Mibact), Marina Matteucci (public servant), Fabio Mongelli (architect), Maria Teresa Severini (entrepreneur).
In Perugia, in 2012, Fabio Mongelli curated the project and the artistic direction of the setting-up of the Museum and the Gipsoteca. The structure, due to the 1997 earthquake, had been closed for some time and it was necessary to give a signal of restart and renewed confidence. And so it has been.
The cultural heritage includes about 600 plaster casts, 430 paintings, 12,000 drawings and over 6,000 engravings. Among the plasters, exceptional for their workmanship and variety, we can distinguish the gigantic “Ercole Farnese”, “Il pugilatore Damòsseno”, “Amore e Psiche” and “Le Tre Grazie” by Antonio Canova, original copy donated by the artist, “Il Laocoonte”, “Il Pastorello” by Bertel Thorvaldsen. Among the paintings stand out “Autoritratto con pappagallo” by Mariano Guardabassi and paintings by Annibale Brugnoli, Domenico Bruschi, Armando Spadini, Mario Mafai, Alberto Burri, Gerardo Dottori.
“I lived in Perugia – said the director – an intense and fascinating period of my life. In this city you can breathe art simply by walking down the street or talking to the people you meet. The Academy of Fine Arts of Perugia is a firm and irreplaceable point of my career. The setting up of the Museum and the Gipsoteca has been exciting. Those who shared that project, in primis the director Giuliano Giuman and the president Mario Rampini, made a clear and defined choice. It focused on the essentials, on inspiration, trying to concentrate well on the artist’s effort and the sense of art in the most contemporary vision. No compromise. In following this path, we kept in mind a concept as simple as it is difficult to achieve: art is a growth factor for the community, an instrument of peace and sharing in an increasingly fragmented society; art is a bearer of hope. Pietro Vannucci, to whom the Academy is named, was known in his time as the “best master of Italy”. That vocation, which today is manifested in multifaceted forms, is itself synonymous of hope. In this city not only minds are forged, but also sensibilities; not only notions are given, but also practice, thus giving form and substance to the role of the disciple desirous of learning. In these classrooms not only culture is transmitted, but also humanity. I sincerely thank all those who wanted to entrust me with this mission, first of all the Academic Corps of the Academy of Fine Arts of Perugia”.
