Exhibition curated by Rosario Maria Anzalone and Silvia Anna Biagi, from an idea of Sergio Campagnolo

 The Regional Direction of National Museums of Lombardy (Ministry of Culture) is pleased to present VETTE. Stories of sports and mountains, an exhibition promoted with the support of Regione Lombardia and created in collaboration with the National Mountain Museum “Duca degli Abruzzi” of Turin and the Regional Direction of National Museums of Veneto – National Collection Salce Museum. The initiative is part of the official program of the Cultural Olympics of Milan Cortina 2026, confirming the vitality of the cultural perspective even in the Olympic celebrations.

The exhibition will be staged in the splendid Renaissance spaces of Palazzo Besta in Teglio, in the heart of Valtellina, and will be open to the public from January 28 to August 30, 2026, with a preview for the press on January 27. The exhibition pathway, articulated between the internal and external environments of the palace, aims to explore the relationship between the Alpine landscape, winter sports, and cultural traditions.

«We are happy to host such a broad and shared project at Palazzo Besta and are deeply grateful for the institutional support that has made it possible, starting with Regione Lombardia, the Regional Direction of National Museums of Veneto, the National Mountain Museum of Turin, and the Milan Cortina Foundation», declares Rosario Maria Anzalone, Regional Director of National Museums of Lombardy and co-curator of the exhibition. «An initiative that shows, if there was any need, that museums are living places, capable of welcoming themes seemingly distant from their historical-artistic matrix and of engaging with different audiences, expanding their ability to interpret the present. The mountain and sport are themes that excite me and that we consider fundamental to tell the story of our territory, its identity, and its ability to look to the future with awareness and responsibility».

«This exhibition», comments Francesca Caruso, Councilor for Culture of Regione Lombardia, «represents a precious piece of the Cultural Olympics because it unites strong identities of Lombardy: the mountain, culture, and sport. Bringing a project of this magnitude to Palazzo Besta means valuing the territories, the alpine communities, and their history. It is a narrative that speaks of roots, challenges, and changes, but above all of a mountain that continues to be a living cultural heritage. The collaboration with Veneto and the Mountain Museum of Turin demonstrates, once again, that when institutions work together they can build solid, recognizable cultural pathways capable of speaking to today's audience».

The initiative also configures a close synergy between the Regional Direction of National Museums of Lombardy and its counterpart in Veneto. In dialogue with the exhibition in Teglio, the great exhibition A magical winter. White emotions from the Salce Collection will open on November 20, 2025, at the National Collection Salce Museum in Treviso, dedicated to the birth of the winter imaginary through historical posters, advertising graphics, photographs, and period materials.

The two venues – Palazzo Besta and Collezione Salce – thus form a single narrative in two chapters, which ideally unites Veneto and Lombardy in a project that spans from the first pioneering experiences to the rise of sports tourism, through changes in daily life and the profound impact on the mountain landscape.

Palazzo Besta: a pathway that intertwines sport, identity, and landscape

Curated by Rosario Maria Anzalone and Silvia Anna Biagi, starting from an idea of Sergio Campagnolo, the exhibition VETTE. Stories of sports and mountains is conceived as a great journey into the history of winter sports and the profound transformations that their dissemination has brought about in the imaginary and lifestyle of the alpine valleys.

A narrative that, in perfect harmony with the Renaissance character of Palazzo Besta, interweaves memory, symbols, and cultural identity, but also challenges and prospects for the future. 
The exhibition pathway revolves around three major thematic cores, conceived as viewpoints of a single narrative.

The history of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics

From the first Olympics in Chamonix 1924 to Milan Cortina 2026, this section gathers relics, posters, Olympic torches, historical equipment, photographs, and documents from important national and international institutions. In particular, a fundamental role in this section is played by loans from the collections of the National Mountain Museum “Duca degli Abruzzi” of Turin dedicated to the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Besides the symbolic figures of the Games, the history of the hosting communities and the values that have marked a century of modern winter sports emerge.

A female perspective

In harmony with the history of the Palace and the Besta family, where women played decisive roles, the exhibition pathway will give space to the faces and victories of the most famous Olympic and Paralympic athletes, stories of courage, talent, and challenges that have redefined the role of women in sport and society. But not only that: alongside relics and medals, everyday objects and tools of female work from the past century will be displayed, in a comparison that aims to highlight, without giving in to tedious nostalgia or blind and excessive enthusiasm, the radical change in perspectives and habits that occurred in the alpine valleys over the last 60 years.

Sport and the mountain: between great transformations and uncertain prospects

The birth and establishment of winter sports also mark the transition from a peasant mountain to a modern, tourist, and sporting one. Through photographic materials, ethnographic objects, and local testimonies, this section reflects the metamorphosis of Valtellina and the Alps: from unspoiled landscapes to ski infrastructures, offering points for reflection and analysis on the relationship between man and the environment, between development and sustainability.

The pathway concludes in the garden of Palazzo Besta, vividly overlooking the Orobie Alps, with a site-specific installation curated by Michele Tavola, created by artists rooted in Valtellina and nationally recognized Luca Conca and Vincenzo Martegani, who will exhibit diptychs of photographs and paintings in dialogue with each other.

Besides the exhibition pathway, VETTE includes a rich public program: meetings with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, scholars, journalists, and mountain writers; workshops and activities for schools and families; guided tours and talks dedicated to sustainability, alpine transformations, and the future of winter sports.

The project is supported by an articulated collaboration involving:

Regione Lombardia

Regional Direction of National Museums of Lombardy

Regional Direction of National Museums of Veneto – National Collection Salce Museum

National Mountain Museum “Duca degli Abruzzi” of Turin

Milan Cortina Foundation 2026

International Olympic Committee

A network that enhances the interregional dimension of the project and strengthens its role within the cultural initiatives related to the Olympic Games. The exhibition also activates an important territorial network thanks to collaboration with local entities, associations, and cultural institutions in Valtellina, contributing to the construction of a lasting cultural legacy for the valley.

Regional Direction of National Museums of Lombardy

https://museilombardia.cultura.gov.it/

drm-lom@cultura.gov.it

Press Office DRMN-LOM

Studio Giornaliste Associate BonnePresse

Carlotta Dazzi |  +39 347 12 99 381 | carlotta.dazzi@bonnepresse.it

Gaia Grassi | +39 339 56 53 179 |  gaia.grassi@bonnepresse.it

www.bonnepresse.it

In collaboration with

Studio ESSECI of Sergio Campagnolo

tel. 049663499

Contact person Elisabetta Rosa: elisabetta@studioesseci.net

The Regional Direction of National Museums of Lombardy coordinates and promotes 13 state museums and archaeological parks in the region. It is responsible for ensuring the implementation of public service for the enjoyment and enhancement of museums, monuments, and archaeological sites, guaranteeing uniform quality levels. In collaboration with the Superintendencies and territorial and local entities, it promotes the expansion of museum collections, the organization of temporary exhibitions, and the activities of cataloging, study, restoration, as well as the communication and enhancement of the regional cultural heritage. By defining common strategies and objectives, it promotes collaboration with other cultural institutions in the region to create cultural and tourism pathways and for educational and technological innovation. It works to encourage the active participation of users and maximum accessibility to the museums that safeguard the archaeological, artistic, and historical heritage of Lombardy.