The first number of the yearbook on “Titian studies†produced by the “Titian Study Centre Foundation†was recently presented at the Academy of Venice, with good coverage by all the national newspapers. This is another feather in the cap of the Foundation based in Cadore (Titian’s birthplace, ed.), after the recent successful Titian exhibition in London; the next one devoted to the great painter will open at the Prado in Madrid in June.
The Yearbook, with text in Italian and English, is the first publication in the world to be devoted exclusively to Titian, and will review all the major studies on the painter, exhibitions, restorations, and the market for his works. The Yearbook is published under the authoritative editorship of Prof. Roger Rearick, and is guaranteed to attract the attention of the world’s most important libraries. It was the brainchild of the recently-formed Foundation which was promoted first of all by the “Magnificent Community†of Cadore, and by the Local Council of Pieve di Cadore, along with other public bodies, businesses and private citizens. The aims of the Foundation are to encourage research into and appreciation of the art and life of Titian, as well as to promote culture and tourism in the northern Province of Belluno. Yet another aim is to take the study of art history into smaller centres away from the large cities which up to now have had a monopoly on such studies; in this connection the history of painting in Cadore in the 16th century will be an object of research.
We are determined that the “Titian Study Centre†should become an active study and research centre, not merely a place of occasional events, a summer holiday attraction, as many such places in tourist areas in Italy have in the past turned out to be. We feel there is an urgent need to bring to proper public recognition the artistic and cultural heritage of the Cadore area, and the launch of the Foundation (whose president is the industrialist Vittorio Tabacchi) is an excellent omen, as the success of its first ventures show.
All the same, it would be very helpful if the activities of the Foundation could be seen as part of a wider and better organised range of tourist attractions. This area should be able to offer an example of mountain tourism of great depth and variety, in which the rich culture and history of Cadore could be presented in the setting of the most beautiful mountains in the world.
