THE MART IN ROVERETO
The Mart in Rovereto. The first museum of Trentino I visited was the Mart, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, and it seemed odd at that time (it was 2002 and the museum had just been inaugurated) that Rovereto had invested in culture with a challenging project.
The building, seat of the museum, has soon become the symbol of Rovereto with its dome made of glass and steel which covers the front yard, but is also a point of reference for those who want to discover Trentino starting from its museums.
The Mart of Rovereto is one of the most important museums of modern and contemporary art in Italy (the most visited is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice) housing a collection of over 20,000 works of art of the 20th century on display in rotation, and often connected with great temporary exhibitions arranged by the museum.
I often talked about exhibitions organized by the Mart, the last post I wrote was dedicated to the exhibition devoted to Boccioni, and last summer I visited the exhibition “I pittori della luce. Dal Divisionismo al Futurismo” (“Painters of light. From Divisionism to Futurism”).
THE EXHIBITIONS AND THE ARTISTS OF THE MART
The Mart of Rovereto has got a feature that distinguishes it from usual museums: it’s not only a place where you can admire works belonging to the main artistic movements of the 20th century, but it’s above all a cultural workshop and all its activities, including temporary exhibitions, are connected with the study of one of the themes the museum deals with: Futurism, the 20th century, Metaphysics, Abstract Art, Pop Art, Arte Povera, and up to the most contemporary artistic experiences.
A significant part of the museum collections is dedicated to Futurism, thanks to over 3,000 works including drawings, paintings, sculptures and tapestries bequeathed to the museum by the artist Fortunato Depero and on exhibition largely at the Casa d’Arte Futurista Depero. But there are also the great masterpieces by the major artists of the 20th-century Italian painting such as Mario Sironi, Carlo Carrà, Giorgio Morandi, Felice Casorati, Giorgio De Chirico, Fontana, Burri, Afro, Vedova, and paintings and sculptures created by many other great artists.
HOW TO REACH THE MART MUSEUM
You can easily reach Rovereto to visit the Mart Museum either by car (A22 Brennero Motorway (Brenner Motorway), exit Rovereto Sud / Lago di Garda (Lake Garda) Nord and exit Rovereto Nord), or by train, which is also the main mean of transportation I suggest that you should use if you arrive in Italy by plane (the closest airports are in Milan, Venice, Treviso and Verona). I arrived in Rovereto by train, and then I took a taxi to reach the Mart Museum which is located in the city centre.
INFO
You can visit the Mart also using the Trento Rovereto Card Museum: only one ticket to see the main museums and castles.
I made a list of the unmissable museums of Trento and Rovereto, where you can find information about the Trento Rovereto Card and the link to buy it.