Luigi Magnani (1906–1984) was one of the world’s most refined art collectors. In his residence in Mamiano di Traversetolo near Parma—now home to the Magnani-Rocca Foundation—he created a pantheon of great artists from every era, including Dürer, Titian, Goya, Canova, and later Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and de Chirico. With fifty works by Giorgio Morandi, a collection which Magnani formed in collaboration with the artist, the Magnani-Rocca Foundation holds one of the world’s most important collections of the Italian master. Magnani was a music and art critic, and authored many essays of exquisite originality and elegance.
Antony Shugaar is a writer and a translator from the Italian and the French. He has translated numerous articles for the New York Review of Books and nearly forty novels for Europa Editions. He has translated many novels that were awarded Italy’s highest literary award, the Strega Prize, and he is the recipient of two National Endowment of the Arts fellowships.
Alice Ensabella is an associate professor in contemporary art history at the University of Grenoble Alpes.
Stefano Roffi is the scientific director of the Magnani-Rocca Foundation. He oversees the foundation’s permanent collection and curates and special exhibitions, with a focus on Italian twentieth-century artists and movements.
