La Tela di Aracne. Biodiversity and Metamorphosis in Architectural Drawings from the 19th to the 20th Century

La tela di Aracne.
Biodiversity and Metamorphosis in Architectural Drawings from the 19th to the 20th Century

• Opening ceremony on 4 June 2026, Sala delle Verifiche, Palazzo Chiaromonte – Steri Monumental Complex, 6.00 pm.

The exhibition, whose title is inspired by Ovid’s *Metamorphoses* and, in particular, by Arachne’s ability to depict the synthesis of nature and artifice with great technical skill and unrivalled creative realism, explores the theme of biodiversity and architectural -spatial metamorphoses contained in the architectural drawings produced between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by Giovan Battista Filppo Basile, Ernesto Basile, Salvatore Benfratello, Salvatore Caronia Roberti, Antonino Lo Bianco, Antonio Zanca and Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, whose works are held in the Scientific Collections of the Department of Architecture at the University of Palermo. The exhibition draws an ideal comparison between the design output documented in the archives of the Scientific Collections of the Department of Architecture and the analogous themes emerging from the transformations in the repertoires of national and international architectural language.

Through a thematic exploration of the metamorphic relationships between nature and architecture, the exhibition’s broader aim is to promote and disseminate the archival and museum heritage of the Department of Architecture and the University of Palermo’s Museum System, by exhibiting to the general public drawings and designs held in the archives of the D’Arch’s Scientific Collections, as well as a selection of artefacts and related graphic reinterpretations from the Botanical Garden, the Gemmellaro Geological Museum and the Dod Zoology Museum.

Through an exhibition of original drawings and designs, digital reproductions, videos and three-dimensional models produced by the D’Arch FabLab, the public will have the opportunity to trace the origins, influences and interrelationships of the design transformations undertaken by various key figures in Sicilian architecture between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, guided by a renewed interest in the natural sciences, their rules and mechanisms, and consequently inspired by the myriad forms of plant and animal biodiversity. This initiative, of significant scientific and educational interest, constitutes a key public engagement activity for D’Arch, in line with the objectives of the University’s Strategic Plan 2024–2027, and consistent with the broader educational and social mission of the University Museum System.

• National conference: 5 June 2026, Sala Magna, Palazzo Chiaromonte – Steri Monumental Complex, 9.30 am.