A heroine of the ill-fated Carini in Sicily | Enrico Romolo

Through the exhibition of the work A heroine of the ill-fated Carini in Sicily (1860) by Enrico Romolo, in the Hall of Consiglio Comunale at Palazzo d'Accursio, the project implemented by the Municipal Administration of Bologna to exhibit paintings that give space and visibility to female figures who have contributed to the history of painting in Bologna and the country continues. 

The title of the work recalls the events that took place during the Italian Risorgimento, still close to us, and in particular, the bloody repressions against the Sicilian city that dared to rebel against the Bourbons.  

The work depicts a young woman in traditional Sicilian clothes with a tricolour cockade on top, loading a musket.  The unmistakable figure of the painting and its title position the work in that strand of contemporary history painting that was achieving great success in all the major national exhibitions at that time. 

The initiative is possible thanks to an agreement signed in 2023 by the Bologna Civic Museums Department with the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, which has loaned Enrico Romolo's work as part of a shared project between the two institutions for the enhancement of their respective museum heritages.

The exhibition is also part of the widespread exhibition La pittura a Bologna nel lungo Ottocento | 1796 - 1915 (21 March - 30 June 2024), promoted by the Settore Musei Civici Bologna with the coordination of the Museo civico del Risorgimento, curated by Roberto Martorelli and Isabella Stancari.