The 5 Best Art Museums in Forli, Emilia-Romagna

Reviewed By Brun066 - Florence, Italy

I visited the San Domenico Museums for the first time on the occasion of the exhibition about “Ulysses. The art and the myth ", which takes place here from February to October 2020 (but it remained closed for the national lockdown from about mid-March to mid-May). I was unfamiliar with this vast complex of former religious buildings. In Italy there are many buildings of this kind reused for temporary exhibitions (as well as obviously for permanent museums; it is also the case of this museum), but this one in Forlì is among the largest, and it allows for exhibitions of great commitment, even in quantity. This was also the case for this exhibition on Ulysses, very rich in items. I am not a fond follower of temporary exhibitions, and I also had doubts about the formula of this specific exhibition: the aim to found an artistic exhibition spanning a multi-millennial period, justifying it only by a mythical figure like Ulysses, it seemed to me to be quite extrinsic. But during the visit and after it I had to change my mind. So many cultural solicitations are received in the context of the exhibition, that in my opinion we should be grateful to the organizers for having realized it. From Etruscan sculpture to art deco, the figure of the Homeric hero has so attracted the imagination and creativity of the Western world that a trip to this exhibition has resulted in a splendid journey into our civilization. Moreover, the high scientific level of the organizers made it possible to interpret the figure of Ulysses and the other characters who accompany him in the narrative, in an evocative and compelling way. Overall, an exhibition center like that of the "San Domenico Museums" is truly precious, especially for Forlì which, no offense to the city, doesn't immediately come to mind as one of the most illustrious art cities in Emilia Romagna.