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The 30 works displayed come from the collection of the Neri Foundation – Italian Museum of Cast Iron. Created in response to precise functions, they are at the same time authentic expressions of “industrial art”: items which find their roots in the ornamental syntax of late nineteenth century eclecticism, inspired by Renaissance decoration and leading to the Art Nouveau revolution.

The Casina delle Civette, with its array of stained glass windows, stuccos, paintings and wrought iron, provides a fascinating backdrop to the works on display, which reveal a remarkable stylistic affinity with the decorative naturalism of the rooms.
The cast iron items are set out along an ideal itinerary of cross-references, ranging from the monumentality of the street lamp elements (plinths, columns, pastoral crooks – exhibited externally) to the lightness of the balusters and wheel guards. The exhibition also displays items intended for the domestic hearth, equally notable for their high level of creativity: stoves, braziers, chimney-plates, umbrella holders and vases.

The exhibition, which enjoys the patronage of the President of the Republic, is promoted by the Municipal Department of Cultural Policies and the Historical Centre-Superintendence of Cultural Assets of Rome Capital and by the Neri Foundation-Italian Museum of Cast Iron.