Memories of places and historical moments
The term “Scattered Museum” aims to express a new concept, no longer ontologically linked only to the materiality of the individual structures intended to house artworks, but also representing a journey through the memories of places, in different historical moments, considered alive and as a whole capable of transmitting the entire identity of the Confraternities.
A multipolarity of its different components, reaching the point of assuming the idea of space as an extension and, more precisely, as territoriality. All this acquires not only a historical-artistic value, but also a religious, social and economic one, to make the community an integral part and active guardian of it.
It is an itinerary that includes an area that winds along the historic centre and within which three locations can be visited: the Church of S. Croce, the Church of S. Francesco and the Church of S. Biagio. Each church has a peculiar artistic offer while other small exhibitions of undoubted historical and cultural interest are displayed in other churches. Not a single place, but a plurality of places or, better said, of “stages”, each different from the other but all individually aimed at making up a whole that traces the entire history of the confraternities. The idea of space that realises itself in territoriality excludes, in fact, what is monothematic in order to enhance, on the contrary, the history itself, for that of the Confraternities is all around us, written in the places we cross every day, imprinted on the walls, inside a church, in a building, in the streets and squares.
At the same time, variety requires a common thread that enhances the identity of a certain dimension, such as that of the Confraternities, making it recognisable not only to the outside, and therefore to those who choose to access it, but also to those who populate it.
It is precisely through the path of knowledge, through the staged reconstruction presented in the exhibition halls, and through the devotional furnishings, that the user is able to learn the historical context, the functions and the centuries-old development that the Confraternities have had in the social fabric of the city of Orte.
This Catalogue, together with the tour of the Museum, aims to be a living and usable testimony of a new model of dissemination of scientific culture through the material and intangible testimonies that are relevant to the history of the Confraternities, at all times and for all generations.
Everyone can feel connected to their past, using memories as authentic and personal research, as an antidote against non-observance and as an opportunity for reflection, growth and civic awareness.
The Scientific Director
Dr. Giuseppe Bellucci
