The Italian Cultural Center hosted the "Pietro Canonica and Atatürk" Workshop on November 3rd, 2023, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.
Sculptor Pietro Canonica, who is renowned for his works such as the Atatürk statue in front of the Ankara Ethnography Museum, the Atatürk statue in marshal uniform at Ankara Victory Square, the Republic Monument in Taksim Square, and the equestrian Atatürk statue in İzmir Republic Square, holds a significant place in the art history of our country.
As part of the 100th-anniversary events of the Republic, the Italian Cultural Center in Istanbul, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy and the Municipality of Rome, organized a workshop examining the works of Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica, the creator of important Atatürk sculptures in the early years of the Turkish Republic. Held on November 3rd at the Casa di Italia Theater under the title "Pietro Canonica and Atatürk," the workshop featured prominent academicians from Turkey and Italy discussing Canonica's works in the context of Italy-Turkey relations of the time. The workshop, which consisted of two sessions with the participation of Italian Ambassador Giorgio Marrapodi, Miguel Gotor, the Culture Secretary of the Municipality of Rome, and Salvatore Schirmo, the Director of the Italian Cultural Center in Istanbul, included speakers such as Carla Scicchitano, İlber Ortaylı, Silvia Pedone, Luca Orlandi, Aylin Tekiner, Francesco Pongiluppi, Mevlüt Çelebi, Özlem İnay Erten, Davide Deriu, Burcu Pelvanoğlu, Luca J. Senatore, Marco Carpiceci, and Fabio Colonnese.
Following the speeches in Italian and Turkish, the workshop concluded with a tour of the Taksim Republic Monument guided by Luca Orlandi and Burcu Pelvanoğlu.
Pietro Canonica
Pietro Canonica came to Turkey between 1926 and 1928, following the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, invited by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to embody the country's democratic change and regime change after the War of Independence. Canonica aimed to
emphasize, through Atatürk's sculpture works, the birth of an entirely new and modern nation from the ashes of a fallen empire. Upon Atatürk's request, the Italian artist, departing from the past of the sultanate and empire, signed four symbolic monuments representing modern Turkey by turning to Western models represented by European nations. These iconic works, two in Ankara, and one each in Istanbul and Izmir, attest to the significant artistic contribution of the Piedmontese sculptor to the newborn nation.
