Ungaretti, Poet and Soldier: Karst and the Soul of the World

The exhibition Ungaretti, Poet and Soldier: Karst and the Soul of the World, curated by Marco Goldin, explores the figure of Giuseppe Ungaretti during World War I, with works by twelve contemporary painters, documentaries, display cases with war memorabilia and a republication of his poems.

The exhibition From Boccioni to Martini: Art in Venice at the Time of Ungaretti in the Karst is one of the two chapters of the large-scale multidisciplinary project Ungaretti, Poet and Soldier: Karst and the Soul of the World. Poetry Painting History, which takes place on the same dates (26 October 2024 to 4 May 2025) at the Santa Chiara Museum in Gorizia and the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Contemporanea in Monfalone. It is supported by the Municipalities of Gorizia and Monfalcone and the Autonomous Region of Friuli - Venezia Giulia in collaboration with PromoTurismoFVG.

Conceived and curated by Marco Goldin and organised by Linea d'ombra, the exhibition paves the way for the programmes designed for the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia. In Gorizia, we learn the story of Giuseppe Ungaretti, poet and soldier in the Karst during World War I, specifically from the end of 1915 to the end of 1917. In addition, we can see a reinterpretation of Ungaretti's places in the Karst, with around 100 paintings created especially for the occasion by twelve contemporary Italian painters. The event also has a literary dimension, including a reprint of all the poems in the collection Il porto sepolto in anastatic form, as well as a historical and photographic one. A number of multimedia stations can be viewed, including new documentary films created for the occasion.

From a general introduction, we move on to in-depth studies of the history of the war and the writing of the poem through a dialogue between Goldin and Paolo Ruffilli. The presence of the war is shown through various showcases with objects and uniforms from the time, thanks to the collaboration with the Great War Museum in Gorizia and private collectors. You can also see a reconstruction of a small battlefield. The exhibition in Gorizia and the one in Monfalcone are fully linked by a comprehensive catalogue of more than 500 pages, with many special essays and a rich iconographic apparatus.