A JOURNEY INTO ITALIAN AMERICAN HERITAGE
Museo Italo Americano Capital Campaign – Permanent History Exhibit and Art
“Without memory there is no future. . .“
— Lorenzo Ortona, former Consul General of Italy in San Francisco
The lower level will serve as the immersive heart of the new Museo as an inviting space where history, culture, and community come together.
This dynamic floor will feature a small theater for film presentations, a richly layered historical timeline tracing the Italian American journey in San Francisco, and an interactive exhibition organized both chronologically and thematically.
At the center of the experience will be a dynamic touch-surface table titled Sunday Dinner, designed to encourage visitors to engage with the content—and with one another—through shared storytelling and exploration.
As a visitor arrives at their “setting”, they see a series of virtual “dishes”, each representing a grouping of stories from the exhibit themes. The visitor may drag a dish to their setting, populating their plate with a story from this theme. Each plate contains a photo or video, and is accompanied by adjacent text with an explanation of the selection.
The exhibition will also include a dedicated area where visitors can record their family histories, which will become part of the Museo’s archival collection.
In addition to these public-facing experiences, the lower level will house essential museum offices and conference spaces, as well as dedicated classrooms for Italian language instruction, further advancing the Museo’s commitment to education, cultural preservation, and community engagement.
The Museo has contracted with the prominent
San Francisco design firm Macchiato Graphic Designs to create and install this permanent history exhibition.
Here is the floor plan for the lower level:
” The Italian artistic heritage [in California], however, has rarely been recognized or documented even though Italian artists have painted some of the finest portraits of the state’s pioneers and gave testimony through their works of the magnificence of California’s natural beauty. Their contribution to the art of California cannot be overlooked or underestimated since they enriched our state’s culture. . . ”
— Italian American Artists in California 1850 to 1925 Exhibit Catalog, Museo Italo Americano
For more information about the lower level please contact the Museo Director of Development Danielle Glynn at da******@*****eo.org.
Alternatively please call the Museo at (415) 673-2200.
