Flavio Favelli: Gli Angeli degli Eroi

The exhibition Architettura in Uniforme, currently at the MAXXI until May 3, 2015, has brought to the Museum the personal histories of architects, inventions, discoveries, stories of creation but also of the destruction of a historical period, between 1939 and 1945, after which the whole world has never been the same again.

This exhibition becomes the occasion for Gli Angeli degli Eroi, a special project by Flavio Favelli (b.1967, Firenze), commissioned by MAXXI Arte, directed by Anna Mattirolo, on view from April 2 to June 7, 2015 together with the one, again commissioned by MAXXI Arte, by Adrian Paci and Roland Sejko entitled Sue Proprie Mani. Both projects represent a reflection on our recent history. Gli Angeli degli Eroi takes a look at all the Italian soldiers who have died while on mission abroad.

A long list, a simple list, painted on the wall in the museum hall, reminiscent of traditional commemorative plaques, with the names of the more than 150 Italians who have fallen during peace missions in the history of the Italian Republic, from the first victim in 1950 to the present time.

‘Italy, unlike other European countries, has a contradictory and difficult relationship with its army, which is often perceived as being extraneous and far-removed, never real (…)’ writes Favelli. ‘The news of soldiers being killed abroad has given these men a face: ordinary people who are often young, with their everydaystories, their images, portrayed in uniform but also as they appear in civil and day-to-day life (…) The world of war which has remained unchanged hovers suspended, between the fascination of the military parades and the horror of those who die in each war.’