ROOTS | RADICI in Villa Bernasconi

Discover

As part of the initiatives promoted for 2024, the Year of Italian Roots in the World, Italea Lombardia, in collaboration with the Villa Bernasconi Museum and the Municipality of Cernobbio, inaugurates the exhibition Roots | Radici, inspired by the graphic novel of the same name by Bruna Martini.

The Year of Italian Roots in the World was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to develop a tourism offer dedicated to roots travelers—the more than eighty million Italian descendants and expatriates who wish to return and discover the places their ancestors emigrated from.

Villa Bernasconi welcomes visitors with the invitation: “Come visit me, I have stories to tell you”. A museum that is, above all, a talking house, making it the perfect place to host the testimony of a roots journey deeply tied to the Lake Como region.

In Roots | Radici, Bruna Martini guides us—through illustrated panels and evocative colors—on a journey to uncover the story of her ancestor, Gracco Cornelio Rondalli, who left Calolzio, in the province of Lecco, in 1915. His memory had been completely forgotten by his family. Bruna, like an investigator, brings to light information that tells not only the story of her great-great-grandfather but also that of millions of Italians who, like him, left Italy in search of a better future.

In a world that has always faced the challenges of displacement and the creation of new identities, Bruna Martini’s graphic memoir transforms her personal history into a collective narrative. Her journey connects past, present, and future, prompting reflections on heritage and the bond with one’s homeland.

Eight panels from the book Roots | Radici will be displayed at Villa Bernasconi, accompanied by a selection of objects discovered through years of research in archives, libraries, registry offices, cadastral records, and antique shops, both in Italy and Argentina.

The evening will include a presentation of Roots | Radici with the author, Bruna Martini, who will share insights into the creation of her work and how she developed her distinctive graphic history style. She will also guide attendees through the vernissage of the exhibition dedicated to her, which she actively helped curate.

Vernissage Program:

• 18:30 Project presentation of Italea
• 18:45 Book presentation of Roots | Radici with the author
• 19:30 Exhibition opening

The exhibition will be open from January 10 to February 10, according to the opening hours of the Villa Bernasconi Museum.