A private gallery of modern and contemporary art on the corner of Via della Mosca and Piazza Mentana, in the centre of Florence, a few minutes on foot from the Uffizi.
At a glance
- Type
- Private gallery of modern and contemporary art
- Artistic director
- Giovanna Laura Adreani
- Spaces
- Four connected rooms
- Location
- Via della Mosca 5r, corner of Piazza Mentana, 50122 Florence, Italy
- Coordinates
- 43.7678° N, 11.2577° E
- Member of
- ANGAMC, the Italian association of modern and contemporary art galleries
Overview
Galleria d’Arte Mentana is a commercial gallery in the historic centre of Florence. It shows living painters and sculptors, Italian and foreign, in solo and group exhibitions, and prepares catalogues and critical essays for them. It also takes part in art fairs and organises exchange exhibitions with Italian and foreign partners. Its artistic director is Giovanna Laura Adreani.
History
The gallery describes itself as having more than thirty years of work behind it; the national gallery association calls it a historic Florentine gallery. Its model is continuity rather than one-off hire. In a 2020 interview with the local magazine Sei di Firenze, Adreani said that the artists the gallery hosts are followed on a permanent basis. The same interview described the space as a kind of small academy, where artists meet and talk.
The gallery takes its name from the square. Piazza Mentana commemorates the battle of 1867, when Garibaldi’s volunteers were defeated at Mentana, north-east of Rome, by French and papal troops.
What you see
Four connected rooms, hung with the current exhibition. Outside the door stands the square’s monument to the fallen of Mentana and Monterotondo, by the sculptor Oreste Calzolari. A Garibaldian soldier in white Carrara marble tries to hold up a dying comrade who still grips the flag. The group stands on a base of pink Baveno granite, with bronze reliefs of the two battles. The monument was first proposed in 1889 by Olinto Graziani, founder of the mutual aid society of Garibaldi’s veterans.
Practical information
- Opening hours
- Monday to Saturday, 11:00–13:00 and 16:00–19:00 (as published by the gallery; check before visiting)
- Website
- galleriamentana.it
Getting there
Piazza Mentana opens onto the Lungarno between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte alle Grazie, just east of the Uffizi. From Santa Maria Novella station it is about twenty minutes on foot. The historic centre is closed to private cars, so walking is the practical way in.
Nearby
Sources & resources
- Galleria d’Arte Mentana — Chi siamo (director, activity, opening hours, association membership)
- ANGAMC — Galleria Mentana (address, four rooms, programme)
- Sei di Firenze, 20 November 2020 (interview with Giovanna Laura Adreani)
- Comune di Firenze, Florence I Care — Piazza Mentana, monument to the fallen
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