The Dionysia Center

The arts as a "voice which shouts in the desert", artistic experience as a vehicle for asking the questions and bringing forth the emotions that help a human being to think. A non violent weapon which can awaken the slumbering dreamer, touch the hearts, reach beyond borders and melt at the root barriers and prejudice.

Villa Piccolomini

Villa Piccolomini is an open space where artists, intellectuals, scholars, representatives of religious and governmental institutions, men and women of different cultural, national, ethnic and religious backgrounds can share artistic and intellectual experiences aimed at increasing civilizational dialogue while promoting, producing and diffusing, new thought and creativity.

The Inauguration

On the 29th and 30th of September 2001, Villa Piccolomini, with its Renaissance buildings and 12 acres of Italian style garden, only recently restored with Italian government funds, will open its doors to the public as the permanent home of the the Dionysia Center. The inauguration, organized in collaboration with the City of Rome, will offer citizens the opportunity to discover an important piece of their artistic, historical and architectural heritage, inaccessible to the public for the last ten years. At the same time visitors will be invited to actively participate in the artistic and cultural initiatives, which aim at presenting the soul and direction of the Dionysia project.

Program

On the 29th of September, from sunrise to sunset, there will be guided visits of the park, immersed for the occasion, in the "nature music" of Chilean artist Joaquin Bello. Bello, who has extensively recorded the many voices of the Chilean nature, has dedicated his art to an original fusion of these sounds with the authentic musical traditions of Chile. At the same time the public will be able to visit the buildings and will be informed as to the uses of the different venues. Beginning at noon, it will be possible to sample the tastes and flavours of the "street food" of different parts of the Mediterranean ( in its larger concept: from the Caucusus to the Middle East and Africa). In the afternoon, leading personalities in the fields of culture, communication and religion, particularly dedicated to the theme of co-habitation and civilizational dialogue in the Mediterranean, shall express their thoughts on these issues and on the responsibilities of each individual in the construction of globalization with a soul. Discussions will be open to the public.