Macerie: An Art Exhibit in Ruins

Macerie, meaning rubble or ruins, is the name of an exhibit set in Palermo's Palazzo Constantino Di Napoli. The exhibit celebrates the Feast of Santa Rosalia, Palermo's beloved patron saint. Financed and curated by Roberto Bilotti Ruggi D'Aragona, Macerie  brings together a range of contemporary artists from the city who transformed the neoclassical spaces of decay and neglect into a strange space of beauty. 

It's dangerous to walk around. The place is in shambles - covered in dust, in crisis, subject to vandalism & left with no support from the state for renovation.

As people enter through the arched wooden door into the foyer of the palazzo, Roberto D'Aragona (who introduced himself to me as a prince) greets people with a sense of genuine warmth and extends an invitation to a private party that evening. I watched D'Aragona circulate with his wife among the installations built around themes of shadows, 
 

 childhood,

 and denial...

Later, at a cafe down the street,I overheard a couple talking about Andrea Mineo. Mineo created the concept for the exhibit. Born in Turin, having worked in Palermo for years, Mineo asked the artists joining the project to create art that provokes Palermo to address the state's  neglect of it's rich, Southern historical treasures.