From December 12, 2019 to March 31, 2020 the Castello Ursino Civic Museum in Catania hosted “Caravaggio Immersive”, a multimedia project that was born from the story of the painter's last years. With the help of immersive projections and digital reconstructions, ”Caravaggio Immersive” will re-present Caravaggio's experience in Sicily, fleeing Malta and Sicilian paintings as an example of his artistic techniques. The project, produced by Italia Museo with the collaboration of the Municipality of Catania and the artistic direction of Roberto Pantè, also houses the “Stanza dei Tesori” with 14 Caravaggio-esque artists including important works by Mattia Preti, Pietro Novelli, Jusepe De Ribera, Matthias Stomer and Mario Minniti.

Through the use of new technologies it is possible to recount the artist's tormented journey and the reflection of this journey in his works. The multimedia project takes on a cinematic feel through the use of lighting cuts, original soundtracks, and scripted voiceovers. The whole forms a single story consistent with the painter's aesthetics, a single narrative thread.

The points covered are various: Caravaggio as a director ante litteram, the painter's inspiration towards street people, pregnant characters, the experience on the streets of seventeenth-century Rome, condemnation and exile, the focus on the gruesome and violent scenes in his works, the Sicilian experience.

The visitor will be guided on a journey dedicated to Caravaggio. A video will be displayed on a large screen that retraces the artist's personal experiences, almost as if to create a dialogue with Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The reproduction of some of his works recounts the last years of his life, starting from his escape from Rome, to give visitors the opportunity to retrace all the dramatic events from his arrival in Sicily until his death. The room is enriched by a reproduction of the artist's workshop, the display of the tools of the trade, including the reproduction of the darkroom with which Caravaggio studied his famous chiaroscuro.

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Phantasya took care of the artistic direction and the creation of the visual identity of the path, the design of the setups, the creation of all the proposed multimedia content and the development of the musical background and sound perceptions that will form the background to the experience.