The Municipality of Bagheria is sponsoring the solo exhibition “Classico-Contemporaneo” (Classic-Contemporary) by artist Giovanni Frattini, which will be inaugurated at the Antiquarium in Himera Park, Solunto and Iato, in Solunto, Santa Flavia. The event, curated by Dr Maria Rosaria Ales, will open to the public on Saturday 16 August 2025 at 5.30 p.m.
The exhibition will be open from 16 to 20 August 2025, every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Artist Giovanni Frattini, born in Licata in 1962, cultivated a passion for drawing from childhood, starting to paint at the age of 30. A graduate in architecture and a professor of art history, painting is his true passion. His artistic influences include Caravaggio, Matisse, the Expressionists, and, in particular, Igor Mitoraj. Frattini rejects the classical vision of painting to embrace a classicism outside of traditional frameworks, oriented toward an ironic and provocative contemporary language. His works, visually striking and rich in atmosphere, blend dark and light tones, reality and memories, body and memory, form and content, with the aim of moving the viewer.
The pictorial cycle “Classic-Contemporary” explores how the gods, heroes, men, and objects of the past would be perceived if they existed in the present. The exhibition offers a revisitation of classicist icons under a new light, one that, while extolling their beauty, can also be irreverent, irreverent, and provocative. This perspective creates an expanded space where classic and contemporary, ancient and present, blend in a disconcerting way.
The Municipality of Bagheria, which is logistically supporting this cultural initiative that enriches the area’s artistic landscape, will be present at the inauguration with Mayor Filippo Maria Tripoli and Councilor Antonella Insinga.
The exhibition enjoys the patronage and support of numerous organizations and associations, including, in addition to the Municipality of Bagheria, the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity of the Sicilian Region, the Municipality of Santa Flavia, the Archaeological Park of Himera Solunto and Iato directed by Domenico Targia, the Inner Wheel Terrae Sinus, the Zonta Palermo Triscele, and the Red Cross Sisters of Italy.
The author thanks Councilor Antonella Insinga, Dr. Laura di Leonardo, and Dr. Antonella Imboccari for their support.