Pietrasanta a record city for art gallery density

PIETRASANTA (LUCCA), 17 OCT - The town of Pietrasanta (Lucca), in Versilia, has the historic center with the highest concentration of art galleries in Italy and, probably, in the world: one every 40 meters. This is supported by an interesting census carried out by the Municipality in collaboration with the galleries themselves. There are about 40 exhibition spaces spread over about 1,600 linear meters of development of the main city streets. According to the study, the small historic center of the city of Pietrasanta, which dates back to the 13th century, has no equal in terms of the gallery-square meter ratio. In 2015, there were 32 exhibition spaces. Five years later, a note explains, "the sector has continued to evolve and grow thanks to the cultural exuberance of a city that owes its fame to the historical presence of the most capable craftsmen, of almost 50 artistic workshops for the processing of marble and bronze (another national record) and the presence in recent times of great contemporary artists such as Fernando Botero, Jeff Koons, the late Igor Mitoraj (for him a museum is under construction in Pietrasanta), Kan Yasuda and many others who have created and continue to create their works here. The galleries are mainly concentrated between via Stagio Stagi, via del Marzocco, via Garibaldi, via Mazzini and Piazza Duomo which in recent decades has become the main hall natural exhibition of the historic city. <br /> "Over the years Pietrasanta spontaneously developed an Art District today characterized by the presence of numerous exhibition spaces connected to the great artistic and cultural vivacity that the city has been able with patience to sprout and exploit for tourism purposes. - explains mayor Alberto Stefano Giovannetti - Pietrasanta is a model. It is an open-air museum, the capital of contemporary sculpture, a sparkling international reality where art, history and culture can be breathed all year round and where we organize and sponsor 120 events in total. Access to the city museums, four in a few tens of meters, is free and so is access to the art exhibitions that continuously rotate in the public spaces of the former convent, the Sala del San Leone, the Sala delle Grasce or the Piazza Duomo ". <br /> Among the most important events that enhance and enhance this primacy, there is the Collector's Night (the Night of the Collectors) organized by the galleries belonging to the National Association of Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries that each summer attracts many collectors and art lovers from all over the world. The galleries offer, all year round, exhibition events, exhibitions and initiatives that promote contemporary artists and projects and which have an extraordinary function of attraction for many tourists. <br / > "Pietrasanta is certainly a great little miracle - explains Claudio Francesconi, referent of the Pietrasanta galleries - due to the unique convergence of several elements that are historical, experiential, human and am environmental. The union between the city and art was born over the decades, from the first artists who came from afar to the last important galleries who decided to open a new location here. The art market does the rest. Those who love or look for art can find it here all year round ". (ANSA). <br /> </p>