Press Release

 

August 29, 2007

 

for immediate release.  Please announce the following not for profit event:

 

The Consulate of Italy in Detroit, together with the Vice Consulate of Italy in Cleveland and the Italian Institute of Culture in Chicago, are proud to present with the collaboration of Cleveland City Hall - Office of the Mayor and The Butler Institute of American Art the openings of the photography exhibition “Il Barocco e le Feste Religiose in Sicilia” (Sicilian Baroque and Traditional Festivals) by photographer Giuseppe Leone, on the following dates:

 

Friday, October 26, 2007,

Opening day hours: 7:00 p.m.9:00 p.m

Hours for remainder of exhibit: City Hall hours

Cleveland City Hall

601 Lakeside Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

 

The exhibition will run through Thursday, November 8, 2007.  Admission is free.

 

Sunday, November 18, 2007, The Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio, 44502.

The exhibition will run through Thursday, November 29, 2007.  Admission is free.

 

The exhibition consists of more than eighty black-and-white and color images taken by Sicilian photographer Giuseppe Leone. The first part of the exhibition includes photographs inspired by the Baroque architecture of Sicily’s Noto Valley, a region declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which is situated in southeastern Sicily, among the towns Catania, Siracusa, and Ragusa.

 

The second part of the exhibition features photographs of religious festivals that take place in Sicily throughout the year. These images are an explosion of sumptuous color and festive crowds from Christmas to Easter and the various saints’ days, such as San Giuseppe, Santa Rosalia, Sant’Agata and the cult of San Sebastiano.

 

Renowned photographer Giuseppe Leone was born in Ragusa, Sicily, where he lives and works. He has been described as Sicily’s story teller and narrator as through his work he presents to the world, the island’s monuments, festivals, customs and life. People view him as a kind of “Enchanted Wandere, perhaps the last to grace our island.” Leone’s works include collaborations with well-known Sicilian writers, such as La Contea di Modica in 1973, L’isola nuda in 1988, Il Baroco in Sicilia and Sicilia teatro del mondo in 1991.

 

Giuseppe Leone’s main objective from the beginning of his career has been to offer an intense and extraordinarily rare portrait of his island’s history through images. His first publication came out thirty years ago, when he created the illustrations for ethnologist Antonino Uccello’s “La civilità del legno”. Leone’s interests and passion have gradually expanded to embrace popular culture, landscape and architecture and he has become one of Italy’s contemporary photographers, having his work exhibited in Italy and throughout the world.

 

Dates:                          October 26, 2007November 8, 2007

Location:                    Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Admission:                 Free of charge

 

Dates:                          November 18, 2007- November 29, 2007

Location:                    The Butler Institute of American Art, 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio, 44502.

 

Admission:                 Free of charge    

 

contact information:

Vice Consulate of Italy in Cleveland                                     The Butler Institute of American Art

1422 Euclid Avenue, Ste.618                                                 524 Wick Avenue  

Cleveland, OH  44115                                                                        Youngstown, OH  44502

Tel. (216) 861-1585                                                                Tel. (330) 743-1107

Fax (216) 861- 6304                                                               web site:  www.butlerart.org

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