Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue, NY
RSVP at moc.liamg@pvsr.yncii Mentioning: “Golfing”
The fall of 2023 marks Italy’s debut on the world stage of golf as it hosts the 44th Ryder Cup Matches, played between 12-man teams from the United States and Europe. This year’s Ryder Cup will be contested from September 29 to October 1 over the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club located in Guidonia Montecelio, ten miles outside Rome. It marks the first time that Italy will be the host country as the Ryder Cup continues to expand its international appeal. The event has grown over the years to become an international sporting spectacle attracting the largest worldwide TV audience after the Olympics and World Cup, with the last European edition played in Paris reaching more than 600 million homes in over 160 countries.
The current exhibition Golfing Italia at the IIC NY celebrates the Ryder Cup Rome, and the new-found focus on golf in Italy, by showcasing the long and illustrious, although little-known, history of golf in Italy. It is particularly fitting that this exhibition is held at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York City given the Ryder Cup’s mission of promoting the game of golf through a friendly although hard-fought transatlantic rivalry. The artwork on display includes vintage travel posters and an array of colorful pre-War brochures highlighting the pleasures of golfing in the Italian lake district and the mountain-passes of the Dolomites. The featured historic courses range from San Remo on the Italian Riviera to the glamorous Adriatic Island resort of Brioni, where the golf course has been restored as Brijuni Island in present-day Croatia.
Golfing Italia, at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, from September 1 through October 2, 2023, was curated by Robert Sidorsky. Robert is a lawyer in New York City and is on the board of the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA). He has written extensively about golf travel and golf course architecture and is the author of Golf Courses of the World 365 Days and Golf A History 365 Days, both published by Abrams. This exhibition was also made possible by the contributions of Christoph Meister of the European Association of Golf Historians & Collectors, Tomaso Bortoluzzi and Varese Golf Club, Howard Swan of Swan Golf Designs, Damir Ritosa, and Silvia Vailati. We are grateful for the production assistance of Johanna Goldfarb of exhibitista creative, Bonnie Kirschstein, Ilana Lobet Framing Studio, Anne-Marie Dannenberg photography, and Jennifer Jestin bookbinding.
