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Lost murals by Italian Futurist rediscovered in Rome

Murals painted by one of the founding fathers of the Futurist movement, Giacomo Balla, has been rediscovered in a building under renovation in Rome.

Published: 19 October 2018 14:53 CEST
Lost murals by Italian Futurist rediscovered in Rome
Giacomo Balla's mural, recently rediscovered in a building under renovation. Photo: Banca d'Italia/YouTube

The boldly coloured murals, which cover around 80 square metres of walls and ceiling, once decorated the Bal Tic Tac, the nightclub opened by Balla in 1921. 

His paintings were believed lost after the club was shut down and the building put to other use, but some of the original decor reemerged during a renovation of the premises, which now belong to the Bank of Italy.

While the first-floor ballroom was painted over, the decoration on the ground floor survived for decades hidden under wallpaper, a false ceiling and wooden panels.


Balla's murals today. Photo: Banca d'Italia

The bank, which said it had been working with specialists to uncover Balla's murals since first detecting them last year, plans to leave the paintings in place.

They will be visible to the public as part of the Bank of Italy's new museum, which is scheduled to open in 2021 – exactly 100 years after the Bal Tic Tac debuted.

Get a preview in this video:

Located at the corner of Via Milano and Via Nazionale, the Bal Tic Tac was the first of a new wave of cabaret clubs that aimed to unite the dynamic, experimental style of painting being developed by Balla and other Italian artists with the new kinds of music pioneered by jazz players in the US. 

It quickly became one of the most fashionable nightspots in Rome, drawing the hip crowd with its inventive musical programme, wild dancing and reputation for hedonism. According to the leader of its house jazz band, a sign hung over the entrance to the room where they performed: “If you don’t drink champagne, go away!”

READ ALSO: Why the Italian Futurists hated spaghetti, and other surprising pasta facts

Contemporary visitors were equally struck by Balla's murals. One reporter at the time described the club's decor as “a triumph of skillful imagination”, at once clashing, playful and exuberant: “The very walls seem to dance… They create a luminosity that looks like a carnival in the sky.”

Futurism developed close ties to Italian nationalism and Fascism, and fell out of favour after World War II. Balla, who died in 1958, is best remembered for his attempts to capture motion in painting. Today his works are part of collections in cities around the world, including Turin, Venice, Paris, London and New York.


Photo: Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Giacomo Balla – Albright–Knox Art Gallery, PD-US, Wikimedia

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ROME

Did you know: Rome wasn’t Italy’s first capital city?

With its prestigious history, famous landmarks and breathtaking art, Rome is known all over the world as Italy's capital. But was it always that way?

Published: 8 March 2024 15:55 CET
Did you know: Rome wasn't Italy's first capital city?

Rome is often one of the first cities to crop up when thinking of European capitals, and it’s easy to see why: its multiple treasures, including the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona, make it one of the most instantly recognisable cities in Europe, if not in the world.

But Rome hasn’t always been Italy’s capital.

In fact, there have been two Italian capitals other than the Eternal City since Italy’s Unification in 1861: Turin and Florence.

Currently the capital of Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region, Turin’s tenure as the country’s capital was fairly short-lived.

The northern city first became capital of the Kingdom of Savoy in 1559, it then became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1713 and eventually it became capital of the Kingdom of Italy on March 17th 1861, the day that marked the country’s unification.

Turin, Italy

A view of the Mole Antonelliana, one of Turin’s most recognisable landmarks. Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP

By 1865 however, Turin had already lost its capital status to Florence. 

The transition wasn’t exactly smooth though as the local population took to the streets to rebel against the decision on September 21st 1864. What followed is now known as the Turin massacre, in which around 60 civilians were killed.

Florence’s capital status was not long-lived either as in February 1871 – just six years after the transfer to the Tuscan city – Rome formally became the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

That’s not all however: a small town in southwestern Sicily claims to have been the first Italian capital as it was supposedly proclaimed so by Giuseppe Garibaldi – an Italian general that was among the leading contributors to Italy’s unification and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy – on May 14th 1860. The Sicilian town claims to have held the title for a day.

That said, according to history books, there have only been three capital cities in Italy: Turin, Florence and Rome.

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