Extension of the Exhibition 'At the Department Stores: Protagonists, Fashion Trade and Social Life in Naples between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century'

The exhibition 'At the Department Stores: Protagonists, Fashion Trade and Social Life in Naples between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century', curated by art historian Bianca Stranieri and hosted in the halls of the Banco di Napoli Foundation, has been extended until April 5th. The journey continues into the fashion and commerce of the Mele era, when the city was, among the first in Italy, opening up to this exceptional form of organization: the department stores. A dive into historic shops and high tailoring specialization, among clothes, hats, accessories and rare advertising posters, accompanied by a catalog full of essays and illustrations. The exhibition and volume are sponsored by the Banco di Napoli Foundation and the Department of Letters and Cultural Heritage of the Luigi Vanvitelli University, led by Professor Giulio Sodano, under the supervision of the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendency of Campania; in partnership with the Mondragone Foundation, and also includes clothes from entrepreneur Ugo Cilento and private collectors. The corpus of documents comes from three important archives: the Banco di Napoli Foundation, the Mele Foundation, the collection of the collector and scholar Gianmaria Lembo. In this project, students from the Nitti Institute and those from the Filippo Palizzi Artistic High School were also involved, who organized a fashion show with clothes designed by them, inspired by the fashion of the late '800, and a concert of Neapolitan classical music inspired by the theme. On April 4, the foundation will also host a conference coordinated by Bianca Stranieri, to discuss aspects of society, art, economics and fashion trade in Naples, for a comparison on the 'belle époque', which characterized the city between the end of the eighteenth and the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Scholars and teachers from all over Italy will participate in the meeting.