Topics: From Basilisks to Botticelli: The Birth, Development and Politics of Museums in Italy

3 units

This course investigates the rise and cultural authority of museums in Italy from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. The course unfolds chronologically, beginning with the distant precursors and etymological roots of the museum in ancient Alexandria and Rome. We trace the origins of the museum in the art collection and patronage that surged during the Renaissance, including the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Curiosity Cabinet with its fossils, mythical basilisks, gems and weapons and church displays of religious and classical art. We will study the establishment during the Enlightenment in Italy of the first public art museums epitomized by the Vatican Museums, the Uffizi Gallery and the Capitoline Museums. We will conclude by examining the impact on national and cultural identity of Fascist propaganda museums instituted under Mussolini's regime. No prerequisites.