It is set up as a permanent exhibition in the rooms of the Oderzo Civic Library, in the spaces previously dedicated to Alberto Martini. A provisional but happy solution to «underline – as Vietri himself writes – the necessary relationship between art-literature-history». (Critica Radicale, January-June 2003).
Inaugurated in September 2002 by Mayor Giuseppe Covre, the Tullio Vietri Museum displays, by rotation, around eighty of the 163 paintings donated to his birthplace between 1995 and 1997 by Vietri himself, who has been an honorary citizen of Oderzo ever since. The collection includes almost all the pieces from the 1960s and a wide, qualified selection of the production up to the second half of the 1990s.
All works in the collection are documented in the three-volume catalog-monograph published in 2001, edited by art historian Roberto Costella. Each volume focuses on a specific period of Vietri’s pictorial research in his mature years, analytically investigating the meanings of the pieces and historical references. From the 450 pages of the monograph, Tullio Vietri’s artistic-intellectual profile and the value of the collection emerge clearly.
The Civic Library also features around 2,000 volumes from Vietri’s library, a selection of the ten thousand titles left by the artist to the Municipality, together with his personal archive and that of the magazine Critica Radicale. The book selection, aimed at portraying Vietri’s artistic-intellectual personality, ranges from the catalogs of the Venice Biennial and the Rome Quadrennial to texts on art history and aesthetics, monographs on modern and contemporary artists, and essays on history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, politology and political current affairs.
Also present are about ten titles published from 1832 to 1894 and several publications from the early 20th century. Of the 2,000 volumes cataloged, about 50 are new entries (i.e. not present in any national catalog), 1,300 captured by index (not present in regional catalogs). Only about 300 titles are new items owned by other libraries in the Veneto Regional Pole, which has thus been greatly enriched.
The library corpus has been placed on the second floor next to other special funds (Fund Bellis and Fund Antico) and to the Local Section; the volumes more specifically related to the history of art and Vietri’s artistic production have been placed in a dedicated room, open to the public and accompanied by some of the works from the painting collection.
Work in progress
Since 2016, the Municipality of Oderzo has been entrusted, by Vietri’s testamentary will, with the custody of his pictorial and graphic works (approximately 4000 pieces), his library, his personal archive and that of the magazine Critica Radicale. The work of reorganizing and cataloging the archives – entrusted to the library – is still in progress, as is that relating to Vietri’s graphic and early works conducted for the Municipality by Professor Roberto Costella. All the paintings, on the other hand, have already been cataloged and individually illustrated by Professor Costella in a vast series of 3,000 catalogs entries.
The realization of a documentation center dedicated to the artist is in prospect. In the meantime, the Oderzo Culture Foundation’s focus is raising awareness on Vietri’s work and the collection on display in the civic library, as on the occasion of Night at the Museums 2023.
Events & News
News and information on new events related to Tullio Vietri and ongoing activities within the Atelier.
Highlights of special moments, near and far.
Highlights of special moments, near and far.
