MaXXI L’Aquila, an outpost of MaXXI in Rome (Italy’s national museum of 21st century art and architecture), is set to open in the central Italian city of L'Aquila on 30 October. First announced by the Italian government in 2015, the museum is intended to contribute to the "rebirth" of the city following a 2009 earthquake that devastated L'Aquila and the surrounding region, claiming the lives of 309 people.
The MaXXI L’Aquila gallery will be housed in the 18th-century Palazzo Ardinghelli, which was severely damaged in the quake. The building was restored after the disaster by the Italian ministry of cultural heritage and tourism with financial support from the Russian government.
The opening display will include works by the emerging Russian artist Anastasia Potemkina who, according to a press statement, was chosen in collaboration with L’Aquila’s Fine Arts Academy and the V-A-C Foundation in Moscow "as a first step to enhance the dialogue between Russian and Italian artists" in the historic building.
Works by Maurizio Cattelan and Piero Manzoni will go on show at MaXXI L'Aquila Andrea Jemolo
Works by Elisabetta Benassi, Daniela De Lorenzo, Alberto Garutti, Nunzio and Ettore Spalletti will also go on show, along with images by the Italian photojournalist Paolo Pellegrin and the Paris-based photographer and video artist Stefano Cerio.
The new MaXXI outpost in L’Aquila will also house a small collection drawn from the main museum in Rome, comprising works by artists such as Liliana Moro, Maurizio Nannucci, Enzo Cucchi, Maurizio Cattelan, Piero Manzoni, and Rudolf Stingel.
MaXXI L’Aquila will receive private and public funding, with the Italian government providing €2m annually for the first three years. In 2016, the Italian government announced €30m funding to complete the restoration of L’Aquila’s medieval walls, cathedral and Santa Maria Paganica church.