MARTian Stairs

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto —MART, in short— is a place that definitely worth a visit, should you be traveling across the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy. Its main facility, an architectural masterpiece in itself, is located in Rovereto, a small town about half an hour (by car) from Trento.

Unlike many small, old Italian towns, which often only have one main attraction, such as a monument, castle or nobleman’s palace, Rovereto is different. The town itself is an attraction, as it was the place that Fortunato Depero — one of the giants of ‘Second Futurism’ — made its centre of gravity, by opening ‘Casa Depero‘, the only museum founded by an Italian futurist.

The featured photo captures a transitional space, curved stairs meant to connect the last exhibition room to the main hall and, finally, to the exit. I didn’t quite catch that, so I carried on going up the stairs even though the museum assistants were telling me to start from the other side.

They were right to suggest the ‘right’ path, but it does seem a bit strange to be given ‘strict’ directions in a town that celebrates breaking rules as a for of artistic expression.