“Giovanni Gentile has been recognized by authoritative scholars as one of the most important European philosophers of the twentieth century, together with
Benedetto Croce. His is a theoretical elaboration that still offers ideas today, from the reference to the Risorgimento or as when in the posthumous essay 'Genesis and structure of Italian society' he identified the value of the community. The very choice of the title indicates a vision: 'Going down the street' is a motto that Gentile himself used to urge intellectuals to propose culture among the people”. The Minister of Culture said this while visiting the exhibition “GETTING OFF THE STREET. Giovanni Gentile between culture, institutions and politics” in Rome, at the Central Institute for Graphics (via Poli, 54).
Present at the inauguration were, among others, the President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa; the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani; the Undersecretary for Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni; the Undersecretary of Defense, Isabella Rauti; the president of the Culture Commission of the Chamber, Federico Mollicone; the president of the Health, Labor and Social Affairs Commission of the Senate, Franco Zaffini; the leader of Forza Italia in the Senate, Maurizio Gasparri; the deputies Alessandro Amorese And Ilaria Cavo; the heirs 
of the family including the two nephews, the General Director of Education and Research of the MiC, Andrea De Pasquale; the Director General of the Directorate
Contemporary creativity of MiC, Angelo Piero Cappello; the Director of the Italian Historical Institute for the Modern and Contemporary Age, Giuseppe Parlato; the Presidents of Cinecittà and Anica, Chiara Sbarigia And Francesco Rutellithe film and television producer, Pietro Valsecchi.
Seventy-five works on display including originals and reproductions from various institutions, including the Roma Sapienza Foundation, the Giovanni Gentile Archive, the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, the Italian Institute of Germanic Studies, the Istituto Comprensivo Regina Margherita and the Museum of Civilization. A journey divided into three rooms to account for the complex and multiple cultural policy actions undertaken throughout its existence.
Therefore, you must not miss a visit to the exhibition at the Central Institute for Graphics of the Ministry of Culture, in Rome, at Palazzo Poli, open until 7 July 2024, which celebrates Giovanni Gentile entitled “GETTING OUT ON THE STREET. Giovanni Gentile between culture, institutions and politics”, organized under the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, thus wants to remember one of the greatest and most controversial intellectuals of the Italian twentieth century on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of his death.
After an introductory part dedicated to his biography and some crucial moments of his academic and political life, the exhibition retraces the various institutions that he promoted and directed in the twenties and thirties of the last century.
In the first room, emphasis is given to the Italian Encyclopedia, the National Center for Manzonian Studies, the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East and the Italian Institute for Germanic Studies. These last two, in Gentile's conception of culture, had to
contribute to broadening the horizons of knowledge beyond national borders to deprovincialize Italian culture.
The second room focuses on two other cultural institutions that had a strong bond with Gentile: the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, which hosted him first as a student and then as director, and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Always in this environment, 
ample space is given to the complex Gentile Reform conceived and issued with a series of Royal Decrees in 1923, which gave life to a selective and hierarchical school nourished by historical traditions and humanistic studies. There are also insights into the National Fascist Institute of Culture and the death of the philosopher on 15 April 1944 at the hands of a group of Florentine partisans.
At the end of the route, the third room hosts an immersive video, with images of the time, which aims to bring the visitor even further into Gentile's intellectual and political biography.
“The difficulty in planning this exhibition – declares the Director General of Education, research and cultural institutes, Andrea De Pasquale – mainly concerned the choice of theme, since Gentile was one of the most important Italian philosophers of the
twentieth century, but he also convincedly adhered to fascism, taking his choice to its extreme consequences. It was therefore chosen to secularly present life and 
Gentile's work, highlighting his role in organizing culture. He was in fact the soul of many institutions that still operate in the Italian cultural panorama today and the exhibition itinerary aims precisely to highlight his influence on the cultural life not only of fascist Italy, but also of republican Italy.”.
“Beyond the dictatorial context in which all Gentile's initiatives developed – states the coordinator of the Scientific Committee, Giuseppe Parlato – it remains a completed project of modernization through a new relationship between State and culture which has significantly influenced Italian society. After the Second World War, in a completely different context at a political level, the concept of the intellectual engaged in culture and politics remains alive and above all the State's attention to the promotion of culture in all its forms and disciplines remains”.
Carlo Franza