Giancarlo Olgiati, a significant portion of the ruling class that governed Ticino in recent decades was characterized by its shared membership in the liberal political family. What were the founding values of that culture?
Gone are the days after the First World War, when the political scene was dominated by a few figures of high cultural, ethical, and political standing. Back then, the best of them devoted themselves to politics with a genuine civic passion that stemmed from the values of the Resistance to Nazism (freedom and justice). Among these figures, in addition to my father, Libero, president of the PLRT, I like to remember Brenno Galli, the most important statesman of that era, who provided a decisive push to the modernization of our country, as evidenced by Switzerland's most innovative tax law of 1958 and the 1958 school system law. The Ticino government structure was much more homogeneous than it is today, because the culture of means (Department of Finance) and that of values (Department of Education and Culture) were in the same hands.
As a young man passionate about politics, I have always intensely experienced my belonging to the liberal-radical family, even if it wasn't marked by incisive partisan politics. After three terms in the Grand Council, I never wanted to follow the careers of my father and grandfather Camillo (mayors of Giubiasco, national councilors, and party presidents—the Ticino Liberal Radical Party, my father; the Ticino Democratic Party, formed in opposition to Nazi-Fascism, my grandfather). In short, I have always been inspired by the values they practiced (freedom, justice, concern for the most vulnerable, and an anti-totalitarian political and cultural vision), but above all, my commitment to a constantly updated liberal cultural education that could be useful to a liberal-democratic field of thought prevailed. On occasion (particularly in the magazine "Ragioni Critiche," which I edit), I have expressed my opinion, attempting to combine a culture of means (good management of public finances) and values (freedom, justice, equality at the starting points). I can confidently say that I have always believed it essential that principles and political action coincide with the country's general interest, not with partisan interests. Unfortunately, today, appearances tend to overwhelm substance, and too often, partisan interests of everyday life are confused with a medium- or long-term political and cultural vision, which is the only one that allows for the selection of the best leaders. This tendency to look at the daily grind without any plan, combined with my advancing age, have gradually distanced me from political and cultural commitment in a liberal-democratic party and coalition.
Did Geo Mantegazza also move within the framework of that tradition?
During the Second World War, I remember that the Mantegazza family, thanks to the work of Geo's father, Antonio, ran a boat transport business between the two shores of Lake Ceresio. Antonio was a close friend of Guglielmo Canevascini and my father. In this regard, I remember taking part in a crossing of Lake Ceresio with them in the autumn of 1943, on Antonio's motorboat to reach Caprino.
As everyone knows, Canevascini, along with my father, was the initiator of the formation of a center-left alliance (1947) that for more than twenty years provided a reformist impetus to the Canton's politics (1947-68). It must be said that during that journey, this alliance was already present in their conversations, as Guglielmo and my father shared an anti-fascist sentiment with Antonio and an idealistic foundation of freedom and justice that allowed for a cohesive relationship between liberal and socialist demands, so necessary in a poor country.
I think that these values of the Resistance to Nazism, in addition to those of a liberal nature, played an important role in the formation of Geo Mantegazza.
In this regard, I would like to point out that Geo, in his later years, served on the Lugano City Council for the Liberal Party and brought the experience of a great entrepreneur to municipal politics, particularly targeting the relationship between political and bureaucratic power. But he was also a leading figure on a topic that was often misunderstood. Indeed, few had the ability to promote, in an idealistic and liberal way, the needs of sport as an educational and hard-working practice that allowed, particularly young people, civil society, and institutions, to learn a method that Geo had clearly in mind: to overcome, thanks to his patronage and a vision beyond factions, organizational and social difficulties and create an exemplary management model not only for the City and Ticino but for all of Switzerland. He won three consecutive Swiss championships, and this example of the HCL was imitated by other clubs in the Swiss ice hockey championship. But he also passed this virtuous approach on to his children: in his communication with his son Mario through the magazine Ticino Welcome, which sought to combine information and education at major events, useful not only to Ticino but also to Switzerland and the international Italian-speaking community; and in his daughter Vicky, who managed, under difficult circumstances, to keep HCL in the top ranks of the Swiss hockey league, always with a spirit rooted in an exemplary concept of patronage at the service of a city and the entire country. At a Christmas party during those successful years, Geo told me, and it came as no surprise to me, that it would be wonderful to have a hockey team that represented the entire Canton of Ticino…
Your paths then crossed in reference to the choices made by the city of Lugano for the development of culture and art…
I remember very well that in 2009 I met with Bruno Corà, then Director of the Art Museum and coordinator of the work on the creation of the Polo Culturale (LAC) of the City of Lugano, to discuss some options regarding the project of donating our art collection to the City of Lugano, in a manner and timeframe to be agreed upon. The essential conditions for me were the rapid completion of the work on the LAC and the establishment of MASI as a result of the merger between the Museo Cantonale d'Arte, of which I was President of the Friends of the Museum for twenty-one years, and the Museo d'Arte della Città di Lugano.
On that occasion, I had the opportunity to meet Geo Mantegazza several times, who was also involved in the restoration work on the Palace, transformed into an architectural jewel. He assured me, with his role and political weight, all the support possible in the face of short-sighted opposition to this great cultural and urban planning project.
Despite the difficulties encountered, almost natural when faced with a project of this scale, the LAC has now become a powerful cultural hub, and this achievement is evident to all. The urban planning of Lugano's city center has also been redesigned with the creation of this attractive hub, welcoming residents and tourists interested in culture, directing them to the LAC from the historic Piazza della Riforma via Via Nassa, the city's main street. The Municipality now has a complex of spaces and facilities (LAC, MASI, and the Giancarlo and Danna Olgiati Collection) that enable it to play a competitive role, now recognized internationally, in the fields of art, music, theater, and entertainment. This achievement, which involved me, my wife Danna, and Geo, is a testament to a liberal-leaning Municipality with a Mayor like Giorgio Giudici, a man of vision, and the Head of the Department of Culture, Giovanna Masoni, a person capable of defending this project with intelligence and courage. In those years Giovanna traveled to museums and exhibitions and no one among the politicians understood the importance of our Collection better than she."
Did the encounter with Futurism, the main historical Italian avant-garde, mark the beginning of a bond, not only artistic, with your wife Danna?
This meeting dates back to the mid-80s at an international art fair in Venice (SIMA). At that fair, thanks to Arman, my friend and an extraordinary artist, I met Danna, the owner of the Fonte d'Abisso gallery and highly respected for her research on Futurism and, in particular, Balla's Catalogue Raisonné. At her stand, I found the Ballas I was looking for, as well as my wife.
In the following years we together developed the our collection projectDanna was instrumental in highlighting the finest Futurist and Russian works and in forming the Futurist library, which today boasts more than 1250 titles.
The subsequent acquisitions were always the result of a mutual exchange of interests. I was more drawn to collecting the Nouveaux Réalistes and, therefore, the contemporary avant-garde, while she was more drawn to the historical avant-garde, particularly Futurism and the Russians.
We soon became convinced that to be present on the Swiss art scene, we needed to place Italian and Southern Alpine art at the center of the Collection, thus differentiating ourselves from other Swiss collections that focused on Paris until the 1960s and then on New York until the present day. Our focus on the post-World War II period, with works by Fontana, Manzoni, Burri, Castellani, and others, proved decisive. Arte Povera received a special focus, with the acquisition of particularly significant works by its protagonists (Kounellis, Pistoletto, Paolini, and Boetti, to name the names most prominent in our Collection). In the 1990s, we then turned our attention to now-internationally renowned European artists such as Kiefer, Gormley, Kapoor, and Kabakov, and, around the turn of the century, to American neo-abstraction and neo-pop artists such as Christopher Wool, Wade Guyton, Mark Grotjahn, Danh Vo, and others. In short, the abstract approach and the reflection on the object have created continuity in our research as collectors and provided the common thread that the art world recognizes in us. Based on this consideration, the City of Florence awarded our Collection the "Premio Rinascimento+ della Città di Firenze," the most prestigious Italian art award, both in Italy and abroad, for collecting. The reasoning was that our Collection "is the most important collection abroad on the Italian avant-garde (historical and contemporary) compared to the rest of the world."
Do you remember any occasions when you had the opportunity to interact with Geo Mantegazza regarding his interest in the art world?
«In the early years of our Collection's exhibition activity, Geo used to come to visit the shows and would spend time with Danna and I, taking an interest in the artists and their works. He also loved buying works of art and was particularly attentive to the opinions and critical assessments of those he believed to have the necessary expertise and high standards of taste. I remember a specific episode that happened in his residence in Brusino where Danna, whom Geo highly esteemed for having been a successful gallery owner, and I were struck by a beautiful Cubist work by Juan Gris. The three of us stopped to look at that painting for a long time and it was clear that Geo had a way of approaching the world of art by surrounding himself with quality works that made him and his guests feel at ease in his beautiful home. In particular, that work revealed expertise and sensitivity, because it was a fundamental painting of early Cubism (1913) in the artistic career of the great Spanish artist».
