Art in Todi lives through the stories of past artists on the streets of the town and also in the numerous art galleries where history and tradition meet the most contemporary lines of modern works.

With a long and quiet walk through the streets of the center of Todi you can meet almost all the art galleries that keep real hidden treasures of the city. Otherwise you can take the car or bus to reach the two most distant places or avoid the climbs from which you can enjoy a wonderful view of the greenery around.

Following the medieval walls along the square of Viale Abdon Menecali you can see the profile of the Caetani Tower, built in 1244 near the houses owned by the ancient Fabbrica della Consolazione, used both for the shelter of pilgrims and as shops for rent during the fairs.

Here in 2018 was born the Tower Gallery art gallery, whose owner, Diego Costantini, is a wise observer and collector. He collects, from the most remote corners of the international scene, works ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, promoting with careful attention important contemporary projects by emerging artists.

So the visitor will be faced with pieces from every place and every era, with universally recognized artists of the caliber of Andrea Pisano, Benedetto Buglioni, Antonio Canova, Leoncillo Leonardi and many others.

Although the gallery can only be visited by appointment, it is really worth capturing the eclectic and modern spirit of this tower, equal to that of a Manhattan skyscraper, according to Costantini.

If you continue this tour among the most diverse pieces of art, you can choose to walk along Viale della Vittoria, with a gentle climb and a panoramic view, or jump on the bus that leads to Piazza Jacopone and, without further delay, go down to Via del Forno 4 where, behind its important ashlar portal, the Ab Ovo gallery awaits you.

This is an exhibition space created as a window on the varied world of contemporary applied arts, the exhibition of traditional manual work that goes beyond boundaries expressing new ideas and exploring new methods.

In a space that exalts its characteristics, art and design objects from national and international artists are exhibited, small or large gems that underline the artistic dignity of the handmade.

The gallery's location was one of the best known bakeries in the city and today it returns to the concept of manual work and artistic craftsmanship, renewing its meaning. The choice of the name "Ab Ovo" is, in fact, referred to a symbolic return to the origins, to the primitive fertility of the egg.

It will be Leonardo Persico to welcome visitors and show them the brilliant jewels and sparkling pieces of the collection.

Going to Piazza del Popolo, the heart of the village, in Via Valle inferiore 6 you will discover the gallery Spazio Mater. For the owner, Marta Angeli Coarelli, the purpose of this exhibition space, which hosts artistic and static expressions, is to transform any concept into a pure visual language, "shake that static nature of the envelope that crystallizes the contents", make it a "place in or of movement".

From here comes the name "Mater", inspired by the figure of "Mater Matuta", goddess of dawn and awakening. The rebirth is the centre of the gallery's identity: on the one side wanting to awaken the artistic fervor, in the past so strong in Todi, on the other side hosting every kind of artistic expression, from the most static to the performative ones, so that they can involve the public in the realization of a total work of art. A meeting point and pole of aggregation of people, ideas and memories.

With a few steps you can reach Piazza Garibaldi where, next to the centenary cypress, stands out Palazzo Pensi, with its sixteenth-century entrance. Here on the ground floor is the Bibo's Place gallery, born from the meeting and friendship of Andrea Bizzarro (Bi) and Matteo Boetti (Bo), son of the famous Alighiero Boetti.

The bond with the gallerist Giuliana Soprani Dorazio, led them to choose what had been the historical location of her gallery. The evocative rooms create a dialogue between the sixteenth-century interiors of the palace, original and timeless, with the most modern works.

Thanks to the different personalities of the founders, the works exhibited in the gallery vary from masters of the twentieth century to emerging young artists, in the belief that there are no cuts between the different generations, but continuous references.

Among the artworks on display in the rooms, which follow one another without interruption, up to a wrought iron balcony that looks far away, up to Mount Terminillo, there are those of artists relevant to the history of contemporary art such as Alberto Burri, Mario Schifano, Carla Accardi, Francesco Lo Savio, Maurizio Mochetti and Pino Pascali.

Leaving Bibo's Place, taking the Corso Cavour downhill, at number 35 you will find the applied art shop, mainly for design jewellery, CV_DESIGN Il cerchio imperfetto (The imperfect circle), which contains two souls: that of graphics and interior design and that of handmade works.

The idea of Silvia Celindano (graphic designer) and Francesco Valenzano (graphic designer and interior designer) is to intertwine their ideas using different materials such as wire, coloured leather and semi-precious stones. The ecclecticism of the owners is reflected in their choice to also engage in teaching, since 2016, at the IAC, Istituto Armando Curcio, an Institute of Higher Education, specialized in the areas of visual communication and editorial design in Rome.

Going down the steps of Via del Mercato Vecchio you find yourself in the small square where the UNU - Uno nell'unico exhibition space is the protagonist. The choice of Carlo Primieri, the owner, is to work only with artists to whom he has a strong elective attraction and, above all, who want to deal with the particular and difficult spaces of an almost primordial environment, developed in height with traces of three different ages: Etruscan, Roman and medieval. The invitation to the artists, from the opening in 2013, is to create site-specific installations that can follow the rhythm suspended in time of the precious archaeological environment.

Among the exhibitions that have followed one another over the years is that of Alessandro Twombly, son of the famous artist Cy Twombly.

The tour continues following the descent of the hill, after the Porta della Catena, going down a few more steps, you come across, on the right, the poetic Vicolo della Madonnuccia. Here is the Biganti Home Gallery, where visitors are welcomed by the landlady Paola Biganti. The gallery was born after Paola's return from Brazil, recalled by her love for Todi where her father Edmondo, painter and set designer of Cinecittà, had lived before moving to South America.

Paola grew up in Brazil, where she also worked as a film and theatre set designer, artistic jewellery designer and painter. After returning to Todi in 2017 she decided to create a space where she could keep away the art of her family and other artists.

The last, but not least, art galleries to visit in Todi are further away from the city centre and can be reached by car.

Artenate is a gallery surrounded by greenery, inside the Historical Residence San Valentino, a Benedictine abbey dating back to 1200 that today preserves largely its historical aspect, but houses sculptures and contemporary artworks that elegantly contrast with the medieval structure.

Among the works of international artists such as Rabarama, Stefano Innocenti, Patrick Schumacher, Van den Berghe and Mazel & Jalix, you can still glimpse the remains of an ancient past. It is said that under the altar there was a small window in which the faithful with headaches stuck their heads in order to heal themselves. Today it is enough to let yourself be carried away by the shiny ceramics or the realistic bronze statues to forget any malaise.

The last destination of this journey between history and art is Palazzo Morelli, located in Pantalla, but with two other locations in Singapore and Dubai.

The company was created in 2006 by Alessandro Ortenzi in Todi, to enhance the craftsmen's skills by linking them to the most innovative works of architects, interior designers and private clients. The gallery reserves its space to the world of contemporary art, proposing a permanent collection and leaving space also for exhibitions and events, with an eye to the younger generations.

Tower Gallery:
Via Don Abdon Menecali 4
Phone: +39 338 6133623
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Ab Ovo gallery:
Via del Forno 4
Phone: +39 075 8945526|+39 348 4748778
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Spazio Mater:
Via Valle Inferiore 6
Phone: +39 392 2186615
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Bibo’s Place:
Piazza Garibaldi 7
Phone: +39 335 8420442
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CV_DESIGN Il cerchio imperfetto:
Corso Cavour 35
Phone: +39 320 3327175
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UNU- Uno nell’unico:
Via del Mercato Vecchio 16
Phone: +39 335 5883244
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Home Gallery Biganti:
Vicolo della Madonnuccia 16
Phone: +39 331 944 3233
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Artenate:
Vocabolo S. Valentino 38/A
Phone: +39 347 9427929
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Morelli Palace:
Via Tiberina 191 Pantalla
Phone: +39 075 894 4888
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