| Abstrakt: |
Very young, beautiful, courted and duly prudent. This was miss Ercolina Diverio in the Thirties of the 20th century, a florist with her shop under the arcades in Via Po, in Turin. The young florist was destined to become one of the great and illustrious benefactors of the Civic Museum. The beautiful girl had promised herself to only marry a prince charming who would be up to her ambitions. And this is exactly what happened. She married a Roveda di Sant’Ilario, along with his wealth, the title of Countess, a large flat in Turin, a villa in Pianezza. She also discovered an unexpected love for old furniture and she filled her houses with it. Towards the end of her life, the florist-countess left all her art objects to the Civic Museum with her will. One of these, a desk with a shelf defined by Luigi Mallé “one of the most refined, precious and original exhibits in the Museum”, is characterised by the strong personality of a mature Piffetti and is a perfect piece to explore the mastery of the great cabinet-maker. The story of the will is quite interesting. It was contested by Ercolina’s sister and in 1937 a trial that was widely covered by the papers of the time began. The happy ending, however, ensured that the Museum obtained the small masterpiece, as well as dozens of other precious pieces of furniture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
