The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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sa Internacional company under the direction of

Domizia Bacci and the architect Nico Lucchesini

and coordinated by the Director of the Museum,

architect Alex Martínez Suárez. The Director of

the National Gallery of the Palace of Fine Arts in

Santo Domingo, Marianne de Tolentino, wrote

about the initiative in the catalogue titled

De Ita-

lia, el diseño como arte

(From Italy, Design as Art),

which was published in September 2019 by the

Fernando Peña Defilló Museum:

Aside from its ancestral heritage, Italy has

been acclaimed for its superb modern and

contemporary creations, adding new tech-

nologies and new aesthetics to traditional

techniques. The country has excelled for its

ability to continually renew itself. The exhi-

bition

De Italia, el diseño como arte

reveals a

privileged visual expression through furni-

ture and decorative objects presented within

the framework of the first edition of Design

Week in the Dominican Republic, presented

by the Italian Embassy in Santo Domingo and Bellacasa Internacional. […] This design exhibition,

comprising a vast range of materials, honors both its sponsors and curators as well as its creators. What

is most impressive is the perfect finish and refinement with which the pieces have been conceived and

manufactured, finished, and assembled by hand.

In another outstanding event held to introduce this cultural year, the esteemed artist and director Massi-

miliano Finazzer Flory delighted guests, gathered in the Geraldini chapel of the Catedral Primada de América

(First Cathedral of the Americas), with a suggestive theatrical reading of the letters of the first Bishop, at the

end of the Te Deum on September 19, 2019. Finazzer Flory gave lectures and held screenings related to the

quincentennial of Leonardo da Vinci, thus linking the two commemorations of Geraldini and Leonardo. Like

many of the overseas artists in attendance, he held a number of workshops at schools and universities, thereby

creating, as in the past, a bond forged through knowledge and through the dissemination of this knowledge

within the setting of the educational institution, an additional way to build new bridges and breathe new life

into an emerging culture shared by the two nations.

Considering the importance of the link between the two countries in the fields of architecture and engi-

neering, as explained in the chapter on the importance of Dominican architects’ studies in Italy (Chapter 27)

and in general in the chapters on Italian architects and engineers who have contributed to the development of

the country (Chapters 25, 26, and 39),

I therefore decided to also focus my energies on the exchange of ideas

between the two countries within these fields, collaborating with the president of the organization Schools

and Faculties of Architecture of the Dominican Republic (EFA-RD) and the director of the School of Architec-

ture of the Central University of the East (UCE), the architect Francesco Gravina, who decided to highlight

Italy by designating it as Country of Honor at the XIX Dominican Conference of Architecture Schools and

Faculties (XIX ENEFA). For this meeting, the Italian embassy brought in architects from Italy, who gave key-

note lectures and created workshops, working alongside their Dominican colleagues, for the benefit of those

university students.

Part of the exhibit

“From Italy, Design

as Art” showcasing

the “Made in Italy”

initiative through

furniture and

decorative objects and

presented as part of

the first ever Design

Week in the Dominican

Republic, presented

by the Italian Embassy

in Santo Domingo and

Bellacasa International

at the Fernando Peña

Defilló Museum. Santo

Domingo, September-

November 2019.