Patrizia Nitti died in Arezzo at the age of 82 on July 10. Born in Paris during her family’s anti-fascist exile, she was the granddaughter of Francesco Saverio Nitti, President of the Italian Council in 1919-1920. After artistic studies then a stint in finance in Rome, she was called in 1986 to work on the development of Pompeii. She then organized exhibitions between Italy and France.
In France, Patrizia Nitti became known when, in 1999, the President of the Senate entrusted her with the exhibitions devoted to the Renaissance at the Luxembourg Museum. She assumes artistic direction, with logistical support from SVO, and constitutes a network of Italian curators and superintendents. “I maintain a relationship of trust with them, the fruit of joint work since 1986”she explained to Arts Journal in 2013.
His network allows him to put together a program focused on Italian masters: “Raphaël. Grace and Beauty” in 2001, “Botticelli. From Lorenzo the Magnificent to Savonarola” in 2003, “Profane Veronese” in 2004, “Titian. The power in the face” in 2006 then “Arcimboldo” in 2007. Patrizia Nitti is involved in the definition of subjects, the choice of curators, the constitution of scientific committees, loan negotiations and the edition of catalogs. Several projects are then presented in Italy, at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence or at the Museo Correr in Venice.
Yves Marek, who then followed the museum for the Senate, recalls that she brought together Claudio Strinati, Pierluigi De Vecchi, Antonio Paolucci, Giandomenico Romanelli, Nicola Spinosa and Daniel Arasse around these projects. He highlights his knowledge of Italian administrative circuits and his ability to convince institutions and private owners.
This period ended in 2008 in a financial conflict with SVO. The Senate office confirms the operator and excludes Patrizia Nitti; the “Treasures of the Medici” exhibition is postponed and several legal proceedings follow. Questioned five years later, she evaded: “My job is to organize exhibitions, not trials. »
From 2009, she took artistic responsibility for temporary exhibitions at the Maillol Museum, where she continued this model based on Italian scientific partnerships and private production. At the same time, she chaired the Francesco Saverio Nitti Association in Melfi for twenty-five years and participated in the creation of the foundation dedicated to the political work of her grandfather.
