Continuità e progresso: le arti e la cultura del Liberty

Abstract

The contribution focuses on the extraordinary vitality of a very fruitful season for Palermo and Sicily, which lasted from 1897 to 1923. Starting in the second half of the 19th century, Palermo emerged on the European scene as a new city. It involved a process that was destined to achieve very high-profile results in various sectors of the arts. In the early 20th century, Palermo’s urban physiognomy welcomed the fervour recorded in various sectors and it stimulated the creation of an original and superior artistic culture in keeping with a phenomenon common to various European capitals, from Barcelona to Brussels, involving a successful merging of cultural and entrepreneurial ventures. In fact, this process was supported by the newly-established entrepreneurial bourgeoisie, whose main exponents were also important patrons, undisputed protagonists of fin de siècle Sicily. This rich yet jagged scenario did not follow a single, univocal and unitary movement, but, in a mutual exchange of influences, embraced a network of fertile relationships between students and teachers, and a multifaceted variety of individual approaches with vast stylistic and temporal boundaries.