Specola Museum
PRESS RELEASE Exhibition Presentation: “Cultural Constellations” at Palazzo dei Normanni
On the morning of 3 July 2026, the Piersanti Mattarella Hall at Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo will host the official presentation of the exhibition “Cultural Constellations: Contemporary Arts, Design and Scientific Knowledge to Reinterpret the Sky”, on display at the Specola Museum, managed by the INAF–Palermo Astronomical Observatory and part of the University Museum System (UNIPA Heritage) of the University of Palermo.
The exhibition at the Museo della Specola marks the first public event of “Lessons from Space”, a cultural project that brings together art, astronomy, scientific research and contemporary design through an interdisciplinary programme fostering dialogue between institutions, territories and fields of knowledge across Sicily and Tuscany.
The project is promoted by the Academies of Fine Arts of Palermo and Florence, the Chianti Multifunctional Observatory (OPC), the INAF–Palermo Astronomical Observatory, the GAL Hassin Foundation (International Centre for Astronomical Sciences, Isnello) and the Florence Foundation for Science and Technology. From July 2026 to January 2027, the initiative will unfold through exhibitions, public events, workshops, research activities and cultural productions across Sicily and Tuscany.
Lessons from Space was conceived by Ruggero Stanga (astrophysicist, former professor at the University of Florence and former Director of the Planetarium of the Florence Foundation for Science and Technology) and Alfonso Fraia (Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo), and is curated by Alfonso Fraia and Catia Kuo (Academy of Fine Arts of Florence).
The exhibition “Cultural Constellations: Contemporary Arts, Design and Scientific Knowledge to Reinterpret the Sky” represents the public outcome of this research project and showcases works developed by students from the Academies of Fine Arts of Palermo and Florence.
Drawing inspiration from study visits, workshops and discussions with lecturers, artists, scientists and researchers, the students independently transformed these experiences into artworks that reinterpret the sky and its meanings through contemporary visual languages. Jewellery, prints, artistic textiles, cyanotypes, augmented reality applications and installations created using a wide range of materials and techniques demonstrate the richness of the dialogue between artistic expression and scientific knowledge, offering new ways of visualising knowledge and fresh perspectives on the relationship between humanity, culture and the universe.
The presentation, open to the public upon registration (see Important Information below), will illustrate the project's objectives, participants and activities through contributions from the partner institutions, the scientific community and the education sector.
PROGRAMME
3 July 2026 – 10:00 a.m.
Piersanti Mattarella Hall – Sicilian Regional Assembly (ARS), Palazzo dei Normanni
Piazza del Parlamento 1, Palermo
9:30 a.m.
Arrival and registration of journalists and participants
10:00 a.m. Opening of the presentation
Moderator: Laura Daricello (INAF OA Palermo)
Institutional welcome and opening remarks
Speakers:
Alfonso Fraia – Lecturer, Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo
Catia Kuo – Lecturer, Academy of Fine Arts of Florence
Closing remarks by Prof. Ruggero Stanga
11:30 a.m. Guided visit to the exhibition at the Museo della Specola and tour of Palazzo dei Normanni
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Participants will have the opportunity to join the inaugural guided tour of the exhibition at the Museo della Specola. Tours will be organised in groups of up to 20 people and will last approximately one hour.
Please note that the Specola Museum is located at the top of Palazzo dei Normanni and is accessible only via multiple flights of stairs, with no alternative routes available. Consequently, the visit is not accessible to visitors with mobility impairments and is not recommended for individuals with heart conditions.
Admission is free of charge, subject to availability.
Advance registration is required for both the presentation event and the guided tour via the following online form: https://forms.gle/CNAGTBMfqDvAP2L57
PARTNERS
The project brings together 32 experts, including scientists, researchers, academics, artists and professionals, alongside a broad community of university and academy students engaged in a shared programme combining scientific research, education and artistic production.
The project's contributors include:
Alessandro Alfieri, Sacha Barion, Gaia Bindi, Cristina Borgioli, Antonio Brangi, Marcello Carriero, Angela Ciaravella, Ilaria Cinelli, Serena Conti, Edvige Corbelli, Laura Daricello, Umberto De Paola, Laura Faustini, Alfonso Fraia, Fausto Gristina, Emanuele Guerra, Catia Kuo, Laura Leonardi, Donatella Lippi, Stefania Lotti, Fabrizio Lucchesi, Francesca Martines, Sabrina Masiero, Giuseppe Mogavero, Alessandro Nastasi, Emanuele Pace, Martina Pecoraino, Annalisa Riggio, Giada Rodani, Sandro Scalia, Valdi Spagnulo, Ruggero Stanga and Luciana Ziino.
The project also involves twenty academic courses spanning a wide range of disciplines, strengthening collaboration between the Italian AFAM (Higher Education in Art, Music and Dance) system and universities while fostering new perspectives on knowledge and innovation.
The disciplines represented include:
Digital Applications for Visual Arts, Jewellery Design, Accessory Design, Textile Design, Design Drawing, Photographic Documentation, Digital Image Processing, Advanced Photography, Cultural Heritage Photography, Phenomenology of Contemporary Arts, Graphic Design, Design Methodology, Painting, History of Contemporary Art, History of Design, History of Textile Arts, Ceramic Techniques, Intaglio Printmaking Techniques, Theory and Methods of Mass Media, and Web Design.
Project website:
https://sites.google.com/abapa.education/lezioni-dallo-spazio/home-page
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