On the centenary of the birth of Gian Antonio Cibotto (1925–2017), Palazzo Roncale dedicates an exhibition that captures the complexity of a central figure in 20th-century Italian culture. A writer, journalist, critic, artistic director, and a curious and often unconventional intellectual, Cibotto traversed his time leaving an extensive and surprisingly varied mark. The exhibition Gian Antonio Cibotto. The Taste of Storytelling brings together books, documents, photographs, notes, correspondence, archival materials, and testimonials that reconstruct not only his creative activity but also his personal dimension: character, friendships, habits, and the places that shaped his life.
The exhibition unfolds through various thematic sections that delineate the many lives of the author: from the early narrative attempts to Chronicles of the Flood that marked his literary debut, to his journalistic work; from the world of Venetian Diaries and poetry to his experiences in theater; up to his relationships with writers, artists, publishers, actors, and directors, and his attention to the cultural and social landscape of Veneto and Italy. Without neglecting his indissoluble bond with the Delta that extends even into the world of cinema.
Each section intertwines different materials to offer a comprehensive view capable of narrating both the public and private Cibotto, amid melancholies, enthusiasms, and that unmistakable taste for observation that characterizes his writing. Chronicles blend with memory, everyday life with culture, lightness with disenchantment. Without giving precedence to a specific domain, the exhibition restores the continuous movement with which Cibotto moved from one interest to another, bringing the same intensity to each.
Gian Antonio Cibotto. The Taste of Storytelling thus offers a choral, attentive, and human portrait: an invitation to rediscover an author who managed to shape experiences, places, and people with a sensitivity capable of speaking to the present.
