The story of the Autostrada del Sole told in the exhibition spaces of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, an extraordinary undertaking and engineering triumph that united our country. A collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and the Luce Cinecittà Historical Archive with photos by Luca Campigotto, Silvia Camporesi, Barbara Cannizzaro.
The Autostrada del Sole represents much more than an infrastructure: it is an epic tale that has marked the future of Italy. The Ministry of Culture, the Luce Cinecittà Historical Archive and the photos of Luca Campigotto, Silvia Camporesi, Barbara Cannizzaro they propose a path to rediscover the places and the road that are part of the memory and present of Italians as well as a work that represents the connection between North and South, sixty years after its inauguration. An infrastructure that has challenged the limits of engineering, with 113 bridges, 38 tunnels and cutting-edge design solutions signed by big names such as Riccardo Morandi And Giorgio Macchi.
The exhibition on display at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art from 4 December to 28 February 2025, traces the history of the Autostrada del Sole, from the laying of the first stone in 1956 to the inauguration in 1964, through the photographs of Luca Campigotto, Silvia Camporesi And Barbara Cannizzaroin dialogue with historical images from the Luce Archive. The exhibition, curated by the Ministry of Culture and Cinecittà, highlights the exceptional collaboration between public and private, workers and managers, and recounts the fundamental role of four of the main Italian companies of the time:
Agip, Fiat, Italcementi and Pirelli.
The construction of the work, completed in just eight years, ahead of schedule, is testimony to the engineering, economic and organizational challenges faced and successfully overcome. A journey that began on 19 May 1956 in San Donato Milanese, in the presence of the President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchiand ended on 4 October 1964 in Florence, with the inauguration by the Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
A visual journey that simultaneously reveals the cultural and social transformations linked to the Autostrada del Sole, focusing on cinematographic works, essays and articles that have recounted its impact. Masterpieces like Yesterday, today, tomorrow Of Vittorio De Sicaawarded with the Oscar, or documentaries like Viaduct over the Garlic Of Carlo Nebiolotestify to how this artery has become a symbol of Italian modernity.
Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in this fascinating chapter of our history through period materials kept in the Luce Historical Archive. Among the curiosities on display, the architectural evolution inspired by the motorway, such as the first “bridge” refreshment station designed by Angelo Bianchetti and the famous Highway Church of Giovanni Micheluccia masterpiece that interprets mobility as a metaphor for meeting.
An exhibition that not only recounts an engineering work, but a crucial step in the evolution of the country, combining memory and innovation in a path that marked an era.
Here’s what he said Lucia BorgonzoniUndersecretary of State for Culture with responsibility for Photography.
“We celebrate a legendary undertaking that changed the lives of Italians, representing a driving force for the economy as well as a fundamental piece of Italian excellence abroad. The desire to unite people and territories, in fact, was stronger than all the obstacles encountered during the construction of the work. The work of the Ministry of Culture, the Luce Cinecittà Historical Archive and the photographers and artists involved aims to celebrate the memory of the entire historical narrative that precedes and makes this work an eternal symbol of national unity”.
And again Chiara SbarigiaPresident of Cinecittà and curator of the exhibition.
“The Autostrada del Sole is the main artery of the country, a place that we have never stopped crossing, each with their own sensitivity and their own gaze. The exhibition retraces that journey from the laying of the first stone until today, through the faces of passengers and drivers, the poetic landscapes and monuments that line the great infrastructure that united Italy. Each image wants to be imagined, it is an appeal to the spectators, and this photographic exhibition wants to remember and celebrate the sixtieth birthday of the queen of our modern streets”.
Carlo Franza