A journey through works, letters, archive documents, and testimonies reconstructs the deep relationship between Francesco De Bartolomeis and the artists with whom he shared research, friendship, and dialogue throughout his life.

The City of Rivoli dedicates an exhibition to Francesco De Bartolomeis, pedagogue, art critic, emeritus professor at the University of Turin, and a reference figure in Italian culture of the twentieth century, deeply connected to the city where he carried out intense research, training, and art promotion activities.

From October 3, 2026, the Casa del Conte Verde will host “Francesco De Bartolomeis. With art with artists”, curated by Tea Taramino and Irene Pittatore, with critical text by Francesco Poli, in collaboration with Rita Margaira and Pino Chiezzi, based on an idea by Irene Pittatore. The exhibition is accompanied by the eponymous volume that collects and delves into the themes of the exhibition.

The project stems from the discovery, in 2023, of a precious heritage kept in De Bartolomeis' house-studio: letters, works, studies, books, and documents that narrate a network of relationships built over a lifetime with artists, intellectuals, and students. Among these, a letter from Giacomo Soffiantino, a testimony of a deep friendship, represented the spark from which the exhibition path took shape.

The exhibition reflects the value of the dialogue built over time with artists through meetings, letter exchanges, and discussions that marked De Bartolomeis' life.

The exhibition brings together works by De Bartolomeis himself alongside paintings, sculptures, drawings, letters, photographs, and documents from his personal archive, engaging them in dialogue with works by some important artists of the twentieth and contemporary art, including Lucio Fontana, Antonio Carena, Ettore Fico, Piero Gilardi, Gilberto Zorio, Luigi Mainolfi, Giacomo Soffiantino, Emilio Scanavino, and Ernesto Treccani, as well as numerous protagonists of the Piedmontese and national art scene.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a video created by Irene Pittatore featuring testimonies from Rita Margaira, lifelong companion, and Pino Chiezzi, friend and collaborator, along with accounts from artists, teachers, former students who shared human and professional experiences with De Bartolomeis.

The exhibition also pays tribute to the deep relationship the pedagogue built with Rivoli. His thinking contributed to laying the foundations of the Education Department of the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and left a lasting mark on the city's educational and cultural practices.

As De Bartolomeis himself wrote: "I seek in encounters the emotion of revelation, the pleasure of friendship, the sharing of willingness to immerse oneself in the new." A sentence that encapsulates the essence of the exhibition: to narrate a man who turned art into a place of relationship, research, and shared growth.

Accompanying the exhibition is a program of free-entry events and activities, dedicated to the thought and cultural legacy of Francesco De Bartolomeis.

The schedule includes:

Do you want to travel in the company of not knowing?

The School of Curiosity pays homage to Francesco De Bartolomeis

Workshops for children and families organized by the Education Department of the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Saturday, October 10, 2026, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm - Visit and workshop at the Civic Museum Casa del Conte Verde

Sunday, October 11, 2026, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm - Visit and workshop at the Castello di Rivoli and a walk with a final moment at the Civic Museum Casa del Conte Verde.

Presentation of the volumes SAY DO CREATE (Gruppo Abele Editions, 2024 and 2025)

Creative experiences in schools in Rivoli and surroundings

Speakers: Lucia Bianco, Piero Bianucci, Leopoldo Grosso. Introduction and moderation: Antonella Menzio.

Casa del Conte Verde - Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm 

Presentation of the volume Francesco De Bartolomeis. With art with artists (Prinp Publisher, 2026)

Speakers: Pino Chiezzi, Rita Margaira, Roberto Mastroianni, Irene Pittatore, Francesco Poli, Tea Taramino, Paola Zanini. 

Introduction and moderation: Bruna Bertolo. 

Casa del Conte Verde - Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

To participate in the workshops organized by the Education Department of the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, reservation via email is essential: [email protected] . Access to the Civic Museum Casa del Conte Verde is free until seats are filled.

The exhibition will be open at the Casa del Conte Verde from October 3 to November 1, 2026.

The inauguration, with free entry, is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 at 5:00 pm.