The Piermatteo d'Amelia exhibition aims to introduce to a wider public one of the leading figures of the latter half of the 15th century who is considered one of the grand masters of the Renaissance in Umbria.
His activities, which have been extremely well documented, were concentrated principally in Southern Umbria, Northern Lazio and Rome. In spite of this, it was not until the fundamental intuition of Federico Zeri (1953), who attributed a group of works to Piermatteo; prior to this Roberto Longhi (1927) and Bernard Berenson (1932) had reunited these works under the name Maestro dell'Annunciazione Gardner: had this not happened, Piermatteo di Manfredo - born in Amelia around 1448 and died 1506 - would have remained among the list of painters "without works".
Zeri's intuitive intervention was reconfirmed in 1985 by the discovery of the contract for the commission to paint the Pala dei Francescani, painted for the church of San Francesco and today housed in the Centro Arti Opificio Siri di Terni.
The exhibition project, curated by Vittoria Garibaldi e Francesco Federico Mancini, is the latest instalment in an ongoing project to maximise appreciation of Umbrian Art: this initiative began with the Perugino exhibition in 2004 and was followed by the Exhibition of Pintoricchio in 2008; these artists' works were both displayed in dedicated grand monographic exhibitions in the monumental rooms of the National Gallery of Umbria.
Trained between 1467 and 1469 alongside Filippo Lippi, during the active years surrounding the Duomo di Spoleto, Piermatteo, following the death of brother Fillippo (1469), accompanied brother Diamante to Florence as the main assistant to the Carmelite painter. In the Tuscan city he entered into contact with the productive bottega of Verrocchio. Following on from this, he went to Rome, where he assisted Perugino in his work on the Sistine Chapel (1480-1481), designing the decoration of the vaulted ceiling and participating together with Pintoricchio in the painting of 'The Voyage of Moses' and 'The Circumcision'. From this moment on, Piermatteo's presence in Rome assumed a more continuous nature.
He wasn't absent from Umbria, however, making numerous trips to satisfy important professional commitments such as the Opera del Duomo di Orvieto (1480-1481), the Agostiniani in Orvieto (1482) and the Francescani di Terni (1483). It is during this phase that the painter moved closer towards the art of Antoniazzo Romano.
This can be seen, for example, in the Polyptych in Orvieto, today divided between Berlin, Altenburg and Philadelphia, where "an openly monumental structure in which the six principal holy characters are constructed in gold, represents a clear and intelligent re-elaboration of the style that Antoniazzo had pioneered in around 1480 (Zeri). With the elevation of Alessandro VI to the Pontificate, Piermatteo, in addition to obtaining titles and privileges, became involved in the decoration, unfortunately now lost, of some of the rooms of the Borgia apartments (1493).

The works of Piermatteo and the 15th century in Southern Umbria:
The exhibition is on display in Terni around the polyptych of the Francescani (1483-1485), recently restored and situated in its permanent location. This work represents the main testimony, still in loco, to the intense activities of the Umbrian artist. Hugely impressive for its dimensions and the richness of its decoration, the polyptych was originally positioned at the main altar of the church of San Francesco, one of the most noble and ornate religious buildings in the city.
The exhibition also presents a partial reconstruction of the polyptych of the Augustinians of Orvieto, a masterpiece of the artist, where it is possible to admire a style capable of marrying the delicate naturalism of Filippo Levi, Brother Diamante, Bartolomeo Caporali, Antoniazzo Romano, Pintoricchio, Pastura, Saturnino Gatti, also in relation to sculptors such as Vecchietta, Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, Giovan Francesco Rustici.
This work, especially, clearly demonstrated the continuous exchange of stylistic elements and iconography between the two forms of art.
The exhibition has been made possible by loans of works from beyond the territory and the National Gallery of Umbria, from important Italian museums such as the Uffizi Gallery, the Bargello, The Barberini Gallery and prestigious international collections such as the National Gallery of Dublin, the Museum of Fine Art in Philadelphia and the Lidenau Museum of Altenburg.

Amelia: from Sant'Antonio Abate to the testimonies to Piermatteo's life in the city of his birth.
The section of the exhibition prepared in Amelia revolves around the image of Sant'Antonio Abate (1474-75), a magnificent painting signed by Piermatteo, housed in the local museum. This is accompanied by three sculptures, these too configuring Sant'Antonio Abate: one in wood, dated 1474, by Lorenzo di Pietro (also known as Vecchietta) from the Narni Cathedral, another, also in wood, from Massa Martana, signed by a certain "magister Pontianus de Onofro" and dated 1484; and one in terracotta invetriata and polychrome, attributed to Andrea della Robbia. The dialogue between sculpture and painting already initiated in Terni will continue in the exhibition in Amelia.
It may also be considered that Piermatteo's research into a form of volumetrica began even prior to his frequentation of Verrocchio's bottega, from contact with the local artistic environment, where Agostino di Duccio left, thanks to the patronage of the Geraldini Family, important testimonies in sculpture.
The Amelia section of the exhibition has an appendix in the Duomo and on the Church of San Francesco where it is possible to admire the funeral arches of the Geraldini family, in the church of the Annunziata, the origin of the Annunciazione, now in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and also the house where Piermatteo was born. Also in the itinerary in Amelia is the parish church of Porchiano. Here Piermatteo and his collaborators painted frescoes of the Madonna and child and two saints that present close analogies to the polyptych of the Francescani in Terni.

THE LOCATIONS OF PIERMATTEO
The artist's route and the excellence of the territory
As was organized with the monographic exhibitions dedicated to Perugino (2004) and Pintoricchio (2008) this exhibitive event offers the opportunity to follow the artist throughout his territory, in the places of his artistic formation and the locations of the now expatriated works and the sites that still today conserve some of the greatest testimonies to his painting.
The placid, refined and discrete charm of the painting of Piermatteo is one of the distinctive characteristics of the land of his origin, rendered even more attractive by the presence during the same epoch, of numerous artists of great renown: Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippo Lippi, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Agostino di Duccio, Niccolò Alunno, Giovanni Spagna, Tiberio d'Assisi, Antoniazzo Romano, Antonio da Viterbo il Pastura and many others.
As with works of Piermatteo, the maestri created such masterpieces not only in the major towns such as Spoleto, Terni, Narni, Amelia but also in small borghi spread across the Ternano and the Valnerina, in the surrounding area of Narni and the hills around Amelia: these locations have been partly integrated into the itineraries proposed to complement the exhibition. The pleasure to be gained from visiting these locations to admire the solemn and refined figures of the paintings by Piermatteo d'Amelia, is perfectly complemented by the possibility to explore the lesser-known corners of the territory.
In order to facilitate pleasant and informed visits to these locations, a guide, edited by Saverio Ricci, has been written by a group of young art historians.
Spoleto
In the cathedral in Spoleto, Filippo Lippi was called in the final years of his life to create the decorations for the majestic apsidal chapel, painting frescoes between 1467 and 1469 showing the stories of the Virgin. Lippi was assisted by Diamante, his son Filippino and the young Piermatteo , who was defined in the documentation as "garzone".
Narni
In the church of Sant Agostino, in 1482, fresh from his experience in Rome at the Sistine Chapel, Piermatteo painted a fresco of an ample composition in perspective, showing at the centre the Virgin on a throne with Child between the Saints Lucia and Appolonia, and above, the Eternal Benedicente and immortalizing the green and verdant landscapes of the valley, that were celebrated in successive centuries by visitors on the grand tour.
Orvieto
In the Duomo of Orvieto the art of Piermatteo can be found on an archaic Imago Pietatis on a pilaster of the right transept. The work, of unknown date, according to some academics relates to a trial requested of the painter prior to his invitation to complete the decoration of the chapel of San Brizio: a project which the artist later renounced and in his place the assignment was given to Luca Signorelli in 1499.
For the church of San Agostino, where today the magnificent series of late-mannerist statues can be found, Piermatteo painted his polyptych of the Agostiniani, partially reconstructed in the exhibition and illustrated in the church in Orvieto - its original location.
Avigliano Umbro
In the church of the Madonna of Toscolano, once an open-fronted chapel, it is possible to admire a cycle of mural paintings, subject of an important in-depth study by Aldo Cicinelli, depicting Mary and the various figures of Saints, in which the influence of Lippi and Verrocchio can be noted. The cycle constitutes the largest example of the activities of Piermatteo as a painter of frescoes.

INFORMATION
PIERMATTEO D'AMELIA
Terni, CAOS Centro Arti Opificio Siri
Amelia, Archaeological Museum and Pinacoteca
12th December 2009 - 2nd May 2010

Opening hours
10.00-19.00. Closed on Mondays.
Closed 25th and December and 31st. Open Monday 5th April.
On Saturdays the exhibition in Terni will remain open until 12 midnight

Exhibition entrance
The two sites of the exhibition can be visited using a single ticket that also permits entrance to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art "Aurelio De Felice" and the Archaeological Museum that make up the CAOS in Terni and Amelia, the Archaeological Museum and Pinacoteca in the ex Collegio Boccarini

Tickets
full: 9 Euro
concessions: 7 Euro
applicable for:
Groups of over 15 people; over 65s; card-holding university students; residents of the Terni Province; badge-holders for the Musei del Sistema museale dell'Umbria, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo di Orvieto, the Marmore Waterfalls and the Civic Museum of San Gimignano; holders of the appropriate coupons and offers.
Special reductions : 3 Euro for school pupils and under 18s
Free: children under 6 years, disabled visitors and one companion, professional guides, valid press card holders.
Bookings
Obligatory for groups and schools
Individual: 1 Euro
Schools: 10 Euro

Guided tours (max 25 people)
Schools to one site: 60 Euro
Schools to both sites: 80 Euro
Groups in one site: 100 Euro
Groups in both sites: 120 Euro
Foreign Language guides in one site: 120 Euro
Foreign Language guides in both sites: 140 Euro

Info and bookings
www.piermatteodamelia.it, www.ticketeria.it, 199 757 516
Booking guided tours and educational guides 800 911 984

CAOS
With a ticket to the exhibition it is also possible to visit the collection of Contemporary and Modern Art "Aurelio De Felice", reopened to the public in March and the Archaeological collection in the Centro Arti Opificio Siri
To get to know Terni and its artistic heritage
www.comune.terni.it
IAT Terni tel.0744 423047

Archaeological Museum and the Pinacoteca di Amelia
With a ticket to the exhibition it is also possible to visit the Pinacoteca and the Archaeological Museum that houses, in a dedicated room, the Bronze Statue of Germanico, property of the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage in Umbria, precious and rarest of works from the first century A.D rediscovered in 1963 and put on display following a long restoration.
Discover ancient Ameria and the Amerino
www.comune.amelia.tr.it
Tourist Office
tel. 0744 976220

Promoting the territory
Entrance ticket holders to the exhibition will have the right to reduced entrance into one of the adherent museums of the Sistema museale dell'Umbria, to the Museum dell'Opera del Duomo di Orvieto and the Marmore waterfalls and vice versa.

The exhibition and the itinerary for Piermatteo offers many suggestive opportunities to get to know Umbria, a region rich in natural , artistic and historical beauty and traditions.
www.regioneumbria.eu

Organization: CIVITA
Catalogue (€ 30) and itinerary guide (€ 12), published by Silvana Editoriale

The guide titled Piermatteo d'Amelia and the Renaissance. Itineraries in Umbria (curated by Saverio Ricci), suggests 7 visit routes concentrated on artistic and historical events relating to the great Umbrian painter and other Maestri of the renaissance active in these locations. It also provides useful information on attractions within the territory and is prefaced by an essay on the "recuperation" of Piermatteo and the slow rediscovery of the richness of artistic heritage present in the southern part of the region.

Museum services
Indisciplinarte, Kairòs

The exhibition takes place with
the support of the Banca Popolare di Bari, EROGASMET

with the contribution of
All Food, Atc, Atip, Cosp Tecno Service, Gruppo Central Motor,
Sogesi, Umbria Computers, Azienda Agricola Valle Falcone

with the technical contribution of
Progress Fineart, Ditt

Media partners
La Repubblica , Radio Subasio

Press Office Civita
Barbara Izzo-Arianna Diana
Tel. 06 692050220-258 cell.348 8535647 izzo@civita.it;diana@civita.it
www.civita.it