SPA | Spazio Per Arte, a historic palazzo near Novara is home to contemporary art

In the historical centre of Oleggio, province of Novara, in Piedmont, Palazzo Bellini has returned to its original magnificence after a accurate restoration commissioned by collectors Laura and Luigi Giordano to house SPA | Spazio Per Arte, a project for the town that the Giordano family dedicates to the dissemination of contemporary art values through the artworks of their collection.

After a major renovation and conservative restoration, commissioned to Architect Lorenzo Bini - Studio Binocle, in close collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia belle arti e paesaggio for the provinces of Biella, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Vercelli, Palazzo Bellini's paintings, bas-reliefs, stuccos and precious wooden ceilings have come back to light. The palace dates back to the 15th century and owes its neoclassical appearance to the intervention of architect Stefano Ignazio Melchioni (1765-1837). It is a place steeped in history that becomes the 'guardian' of part of the contemporary art collection of Laura and Luigi Giordano.

Laura and Luigi Giordano's collection is characterised by an interesting mix of artistic media and genres, from figuration to abstractionism, from Neo-expressionism to conceptual art, from the 1980s to the present day. An in-depth look at the collection and the reasons that led the Giordanos to start this collection is explained in a dedicated interview in the Collections section of this site.
The collection today includes around 200 works by artists of different generations, and numerous media such as paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, and installations. The work of historic personalities such as Hermann Nitsch, Arnulf Rainer, George Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Miriam Kahn, Wolfgang Laib, William Kentridge and Antony Gormley is flanked by that of artists of the calibre of Roland Flexner, Roberto Cuoghi, Elmgreen & Dragset and the younger Gina Folly, Anne Imhof and Diego Marcon, to name a few.

SPA | Spazio Per Arte hosts contemporary art exhibitions with public programmes, events, lectures and workshops, as well as a programme of visits and workshops for schools.
The use of the space and the exhibitions is always free of charge, organised for groups, by reservation only, and makes use of a dedicated guide.
Laura and Luigi Giordano have appointed Francesca Valentini, a researcher and curator, as the scientific and curatorial supervisor of the programming of SPA | Spazio Per Arte. In concert with the collectors and Federica Mingozzi, Head of Education and Relations with the Local Area,  Francesca Valentini develops the programme.

The opening of SPA | Spazio Per Arte coincides with the first exhibition, BIANCO, curated by Rischa Paterlini, which runs until 31 July 2024.
The exhibition brings together a selection of artworks from the Laura and Luigi Giordano collection, some of which are exhibited to the public for the first time.

The title of the exhibition, Bianco, refers to the favourite colour of the Giordano family.
Bianco is the colour of milk, the raw material, which has a strong connection with the business activity of the Giordano family, that founded a cheese factory.
Bianco is the dominant colour of the 25 paintings, sculptures, photographs and video art works selected from the 200 that are part of the Laura and Luigi Giordano collection. Wolfgang Laib, Mona Hatoum, Anne Imhof, Robin Rhode, Trisha Baga, Vanessa Beecroft, Anselm Kiefer and Diego Marcon are some of the artists featured in the Bianco exhibition.

The exhibition, explains the curator Rischa Paterlini, 'invites us to feel with our eyes, using the power of white colour and visual forms to communicate emotions and ideas; we will observe in the exhibition how some artists have used the white colour as a symbol of purity, inviting us to reflect on the essence of life. Other works offer a visual and emotional experience, evoking contrasting sensations such as harshness and delicacy. This exhibition is meant to be a reflection on the ephemeral nature of life, on the purity and beauty of simplicity?'.

Last but not least, 'Bianco', says Laura Crola Giordano, 'is the colour that allows us to observe, without distraction, the beauty of the Palace. Bianco is the colour of milk and it is without doubt the colour most loved by our family. And so Bianco is the title of the first exhibition that we decided to dedicate to Luigi's father, Amedeo, who moved from the Amalfi Coast to Oleggio when he was only 22 years old, where not only he met his love and built his family, but also founded his company and made it the first Italian all-milk mozzarella producer in Piedmont. We owe much of the inspiration that led us to imagine SPA | Spazio Per Arte, to share and give back, through different modalities, the vision and beauty that drives our lives.