From 23 to 26 November, Pisa celebrates Leonardo Pisano, known as Fibonacci. The programme kicks off on the conventional day of his birth, 23 November. In American dating, in fact, the day is indicated as 11/23, i.e. the first numbers of the famous numerical sequence indicated by the famous author of the 'Liber Abbaci'.
The Municipality of Pisa, as the organising body through the Department of Tourism in collaboration with the University of Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore, State Archives, Walls of Pisa, Museo della Grafica, Sistema Museale di Ateneo, Museo degli Strumenti per il Calccolo, ArtInGenio Museum, from 2019 organises the 'Fibonacci Days' dedicated to a specific theme that was influenced by the famous mathematician. This year's theme is visual arts and, in fact, the works of artist Giorgio Piccaia will be exhibited in the city in three different venues, Palazzo Gambacorti, Palazzo Toscanelli, home of the State Archives, and ArtInGenio Museum at the Officine Garibaldi. In addition, scrolls with sequence numbers in a circle and painted in various colours will hang from the city's historical façades and walls. Book presentations and seminars are also planned.
Fibonacci was born in Pisa in 1170 and, after numerous journeys, returned to live in the city on the Arno until his death. Currently in Pisa, there is a statue inside the famous Camposanto monumentale in Piazza del Duomo, while one of the Lungarni is named after him. A school and university campus is also dedicated to him.
Programme:
WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER.
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Walls of Pisa. Special opening with free admission for residents
5.30 p.m. Palazzo Gambacorti, Sala Baleari. Presentation of the art project dedicated to Leonardo Pisano known as Fibonacci by maestro Giorgio Piccaia entitled "Essere Persona/Essere Natura. History of a number and a mystery'. Speakers: Paolo Pesciatini, tourism councillor of the Municipality of Pisa; Francesco Corsi, publisher and director of ArtInGenio Museum; Giorgio Piccaia, artist.
THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER
11.23 a.m. State Archives (Lungarno Mediceo, 17). Presentation of the book "Il fantastico mondo aureo" by Gioia Giannotti. Speakers: Jaleh Bahrabadi, Director of the Pisa State Archives; Paolo Pesciatini, Councillor for Tourism for the Municipality of Pisa; Gioia Giannotti, author; Vincenzo Mirra, aerospace engineer, writer and editor of the 'Carmignani scienze' series; Giorgio Piccaia, artist.
SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER
3.00 - 5.00 p.m. Polo Le Benedettine (Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno, 16)
Seminars: Alberto Saracco, University of Parma, "What is mathematics for?"; Francesco Morandin, University of Parma, "Learning to win like AlphaGo".
Visit to the exhibition "Hello World! From the arithmometer to the smartphone for seminar participants'.
Exhibition by artist Giorgio Piccaia. "Being Person/Being Nature. Story of a number and a mystery'. (23 November 2022/13 January 2023)
Leonardo Pisano introduced the Indo-Arabic numbers that we use, and to him we owe the famous sequence. Giorgio Piccaia, artist and free thinker, has been working artistically on this sequence for years. His works stem from esoteric study and research. His works will remain in Pisa until January 2023.
On the façades of 21 historical buildings and in the city walls, Piccaia's scrolls will be displayed to commemorate the anniversary, while in three locations (the City Hall, the State Archive and the ArtInGenio Museum) the artist's works will be on display.
Facades of historic buildings and walls of Pisa. Title: 'Piccaia / Fibonacci / 21 Rolls'. 21 rolls of the symbolic dimension of 377x144 cm painted in acrylic on acetate. On rolls the numbers of the sequence are painted in various colours, many in a circle five at a time, to represent the flower Non ti scordar di me or Myosotis, symbol of remembrance, memory, love and hope.
Atrium of Palazzo Gambacorti. Title: "Piccaia / Fibonacci / The Natural Sequence".
Installation. Flowers arranged in a spiral 33 flowers (in PMMA) the height of the stems varying from 1 to 144 cm. and in the centre the Rough Stone and the Cubic Stone with the Fibonacci rosary and eight works (6 papyri protected by glass cm. 48x37 and a painting Fibonacci Vortex, 2021, oil on canvas, cm. 175x198), hanging on the curved wooden walls representing the petals of Myosotis open to man.
Pisa State Archives (Palazzo Toscanelli, Lungarno Mediceo, 30). Title: 'Piccaia / Fibonacci. Eight, five, zero'. Ten large canvases and twelve small works (papyrus, acetate and Japanese paper) and a painted silk are on display in the Sala degli Stucchi, in the consultation room, in the hallway and on the stairs, with the Fibonacci sequence played out pictorially. A reminder of Nature's perfection in the golden section.
ArtInGenio Museum (Officine Garibaldi, via Vincenzo Gioberti, 39). Title: "Piccaia / Fibonacci. Being a person, being nature'. A large canvas entitled 'Fibonacci verde' (2020, oil on canvas, cm. 140x220); three works entitled 'Fibo si ritrova' in PMMA (cm. 45x35) and, in the inner courtyard, an installation 'La spirale e l'obelisco 0/1', spirally arranged 12 flowers (in PMMA) on stems with heights varying from 1 to 144 cm. and in the centre the sculpture 'L'obelisco 0/1' (in PMMA, h cm 124).
Giorgio Piccaia, artist and free thinker, was born in 1955 in Geneva (Switzerland). He lives and works in Piedmont in Agrate Conturbia. He is the son of art (his father Matteo is a master of the 20th century), and from an early age he frequented artistic circles first in Geneva and then in Milan. His encounter with John Cage in the historic '77 concert at the Teatro Lirico in Milan and in 1978 with Jerzy Grotowski in Wroclaw at the Teatro Laboratorio marked his art. The shedding of the non-essential, learnt from the two masters, still characterises Piccaia's art today. In the early 1980s, he attended Corrado Levi at the Faculty of Architecture in Milan, a fundamental encounter that allowed him, after working on the body with performances and happenings, to move on to painting and the visual arts. In 2018, with his friend, the monk Gregory Sinaite from the Monastery of St Catherine on Sinai, he rediscovered Leonardo Pisano known as Fibonacci, a mathematician from the early Middle Ages. And ever since, he has been emotionally and artistically involved in Leonardo Pisano's philosophy. "The numbers of the Sequence and their divine Proportion," says Maestro Giorgio Piccaia, "bring me back to the simplicity of Nature and the re-discovery of Happiness. Organisational curator of Giorgio Piccaia's diffuse exhibition: Melania Rocca.
Contribution by: FC tax law firm, BIG Broker Insurance Group / Ciaccio Arte, Orange Table - Professional network, Azienda Agricola Cav. Alessandro Chiappini / Ciao, BeBeez media partner.
Exhibition hours:
State Archives (Palazzo Toscanelli, Lungarno Mediceo, 17)
From 24 November 2022 to 13 January 2023: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free entrance.
ArtInGenio Museum (Officine Garibaldi, Via Vincenzo Gioberti, 39)
From 24th November to 13th January 2023: Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm. Free entrance.
Atrium of Palazzo Gambacorti (Piazza XX Settembre)
From 24th November to 30th November 2022: Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm. Free entrance.
