L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 2023 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano M eeting To m m a s o Romano i s like step- ping into a kind of fairy tale, and I can't help but feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland when I visit him at his home and studio in Palermo. But it's more than just a home or studio – it's better described as his ' a l b u m o f l i f e ' . T h i s i s b e c a u s e i t ' s n o t m e r e l y a place where the professor lives his life as an ordinary mortal – which he is not, as we shall see – but rather a collection of passions trans- formed into objects of vari- ous kinds. These include art and handicrafts; written or illustrated pages; autographs of famous personalities; an array of paintings, statues, books – over fifteen thou- sand volumes – porcelain, terracotta, and much more. To walk through these rooms is to take a journey around t h e w o r l d a n d r e t u r n t o where you started. One does- n't get lost traversing these thousands of square kilome- ters that are the aggregate of objects. These are not mere exhibits, but rather expres- sions of feelings, passions, joys, and sorrows that take on various forms and convey to an attentive audience sen- sations that are almost cer- tainly akin to what Tommaso Romano experiences when h e a c q u i r e s a n o b j e c t , a breath of life that captivates him at first sight. To own or to be owned? Is this perhaps the philoso- phy of being one, nobody, a hundred thousand, akin to the infinite variety of objects in La Stanza di Thule, the House Museum? But when a m a n d i e s , t h e m a s k s , o r rather what the objects rep- resent, remain and continue to reveal, bestowing upon us that immortality we all, per- haps, aspire to. After all, the collected objects have been witnesses to lives lived by o t h e r s a n d b y u s . J u s t a s reading extends life by allow- ing us to imagine ourselves in places and experiences as if they were also ours, so it happens with objects that belonged to others and had their own life elsewhere, or in other times. Appropriating others' memories, stealing other existences, is under- standing that immortality is not for the transient guests of this world but through the life of all the men who have lived, live, and will live on this earth. It is also to peek through the keyhole into the daily lives of strangers with whom we wish to make con- tact, to receive their sense of continuity. It is to live many lives, like reading: each book a story, each object a life, and thus we become immortal. We do not possess objects, but we are prey to them, for it matters not to them who buys them or in whose hous- es they end up. We know that b y h a v i n g t h e m , w e a r e enslaved, enslaved to their meaning, their beauty, as children of desire towards t h e m , a n d t h e y , i n t h e i r unwitting will, give them- selves to us. It is from here, starting from here, that the philoso- p h y o f c o l l e c t i n g takes soul, from the love of knowl- edge, of beauty, and ulti- m a t e l y , o f t h e e t e r n a l , for Beauty is eternity. This is demonstrated by the mag- n i f i c e n c e o f a r t i n a l l i t s expressions, and the collec- tor is the one who, more than o t h e r s , p e r c e i v e s i t s grandeur. It is only by pos- sessing it that they satisfy their thirst for harmony. T h u l e , t h e l a s t w h i t e island of Northern Europe, aptly represents purity, our aspiration to the unknown and the distant, to a spirit ready to rise to every stimu- lus of the unconscious. And it is precisely in the Rooms o f T h u l e , t h e H o u s e M u s e u m o f T o m m a s o Romano - collector, writer, p o e t , e s s a y i s t , p u b l i s h e r , President of the Accademia di Sicilia - that one gets lost when allowed to visit. It was from there that the idea of writing a book interview, Philosophy of Collect- ing - edited by journalist and writer Carlo Guidotti for his publishing house Ex Libris - was born. Enlightened by the preface of Professor Ettore Sessa, and the contributions of art critic Salvo Ferlito and university professor Antonio S a c c à , t h e b o o k i s a r i c h s e r i e s o f p h o t o g r a p h s o f some of the most significant objects. Returning to the Rooms of Thule one is enveloped not only by the magnificence and enormous quantity of dis- played objects, all "in sight," but also by the affability of the host; we discover, as he tells us, that he remembers perfectly the provenance of every single object present among the tables, shelves, and every space suitable to hold it. Some belonged to his family, others were received as gifts or bought in markets not only in Palermo but also in other cities of Italy and Europe; still others were pur- chased at auctions. Among the names present in his collections, we find Ducrot, Basile, Bruno Caru- so, Renato Guttuso, Salva- tore Fiume, Eustachio Cata- l a n o , M a u r i l i o C a t a l a n o , Rafael Alberti, Ugo Attardi, R e m o B r i n d i s i , E m i l i o G r e c o , P i p p o M a d è , C a s i m i r o P i c c o l o d i Calanovella, Pippo Rizzo, Giovanni Schifani, Foratti- ni: just a small portion of the artists whose works can be found in the book. T o m m a s o R o m a n o ' s M u s e u m , w h i c h c o u l d b e likened to his own cabinet of curiosities, extends beyond its primary location in an art deco apartment within the h i s t o r i c M o r e t t i - R o m a n o p a l a c e o f 1 8 9 2 i n c e n t r a l Palermo. It also finds a home by the sea, at Sferracavallo, a coastal spot near Palermo. H e r e , R o m a n o o f t e n retreats to immerse himself in the sea's vistas, a source of j o y a n d i n s p i r a t i o n . T h i s location offers a fresh per- spective on life and a deeper connection with the objects, creating a harmonious bal- a n c e t h a t t r a n s c e n d s t h e apparent chaos. Every object, meticulously acquired and placed, reflects a life of its own, embodying Romano's belief that inanimate objects carry the essence of life's experiences. Continuing the narrative of La Stanza di Thule, one realizes that it is not a typical museum, defined by static themes. Instead, it is dynam- ic and alive, embodying the very philosophy of its cre- ator. Romano's philosophy, poignantly captured in his aphorism, emphasizes the unprovable nature of com- plete happiness, advocating for a life led by the pursuit of faith in the unknown and a p a s s i o n f o r c o n t i n u o u s exploration, devoid of any definitive salvation. This phi- losophy is the lifeblood of La Stanza di Thule, a testament to Romano's relentless pur- suit of art, history, and the human narrative. Taking a look inside Tommaso Romano's house museum, The Room of Thule (Photos courtesy of Teresa Di Fresco) The Philosophy of Collecting, or "The Room of Thule" house museum TERESA DI FRESCO ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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