The exhibition "When the Myth becomes Legend". In the micro museum, born from the collaboration of the Taxus association and the Leonardo da Vinci Foundation in Milan, the story of the Gioconda.
The theft of the Mona Lisa in the micro museum
In three rooms the mysterious story of the famous Mona Lisa painting is told. A work that has conquered and fascinated writers, scholars, journalists and intellectuals from all over the world. At the entrance of the micro museum you can immediately admire dozens of reproductions of "the Mona Lisa" but it is in the rooms that compose it that the charm and mystery prevail.
The first room is in fact dedicated to the official story of the theft of the Mona Lisa by Vincent Peruggia. In 1911 the decorator, originally from Trezzino, had hidden himself in a small room in the Louvre and when it was closed he removed the Mona Lisa from the frame. The news of the theft spread and the newspapers of the time were unleashed regarding the hypotheses about the disappearance of the painting. Two years later it was discovered that Peruggia wanted to sell the Mona Lisa at the Uffizi Gallery for a few million lire. He described what he did as a patriotic action. In the museum you can see the newspapers of the time with a QR in four different languages.
The mystery of the Mona Lisa in Cadero
In the other two rooms, on the other hand, space is given to different hypotheses on the history of the Mona Lisa. Graziano Ballinari, historian and citizen of the valley, claims that the true work of Leonardo Da Vinci it would not be the one exhibited at the Louvre in Paris. In reality he would be in Val Veddasca, moreover he is convinced that Vincenzo Peruggia was only a figurehead but not the real thief of the painting. In the micro museum of Cadero it is possible to see the interview with Ballinari where he tells his version.
According to the historian, the real perpetrators of the theft were the two Lancillotti brothers with their mother who owned the Taverna Garibaldi in Cadero and their father was a financier in Graglio. The story tells of the need on the part of the two brothers to get money and so decided, by attendants at the Louvre's Paris, to steal the Mona Lisa. The request was from a marquis who, however, after the theft did not want it anymore. The brothers thus decided to hide the painting under the table in the Garibaldi tavern. When the father found out about the story, he told his children to find a friend to blame in exchange for money. That friend was Vincenzo Peruggia.
A fake in the Louvre?
In the third room there is the reproduction of the Garibaldi tavern where under the table there is a mirror showing the hidden Mona Lisa as it would have happened at that time. The exhibition deals with the theme of the painting in the Louvre. During the inauguration of the micro museum in Cadero, the book "The theft of the Mona Lisa. A fake in the Louvre?". In the work, new elements of the story have been analyzed which confirm many rumors of the stories handed down from father to son in Val Veddasca.
Vincenti himself stated: "The Louvre Museum has declared that the Mona Lisa in their possession is the original but still has not wanted to transmit objective data". After all, the exhibition "When the Myth becomes Legend”Also arises from the lack of evidence on the return of the Mona Lisa by Vincenzo Peruggia. A mystery that still fascinates fans from all over the world today.
Photo source in evidence: Facebook Mona Lisa Museum in Val Veddasca
