Museo do Pobo Galego Unveils 66 Masks from Nacho Rovira II Collection
Exhibition in Santiago de Compostela showcases masks from Andorra, Romania, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, exploring their role in festivals, rituals,.
Key Points
- 66 masks from Masks. Alas y Viento Collection on view from 29 January.
- Features Ossa d’Ordino from Andorran heritage and pieces from Romania, Italy, Portugal, Spain.
- Covers winter festivals, religious events, Baroque carnivals, funeral rites, and modern reinterpretations.
- Part of EU project Unveiling the Arts and Works behind the Masks, emphasizing artisan work.
The Museo do Pobo Galego in Santiago de Compostela launched an exhibition on 29 January showcasing 66 masks from the *Masks. Alas y Viento Collection* by Nacho Rovira II. The display features the Ossa d’Ordino, a key element of Andorran festive heritage, alongside pieces from Romania, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Organised by the University of Valladolid’s Cátedra de Estudios de la Tradición and curated by Professor Pilar Panero, the show forms part of the European project *Unveiling the Arts and Works behind the Masks*. It examines masks as a universal cultural form appearing in popular festivals, rituals, and theatrical performances across eras and regions.
On view are masks linked to winter festivals and carnivals, religious events including Christmas, Holy Week, and Corpus Christi, as well as those from Baroque courtly carnivals and Commedia dell’Arte tied to modern European theatre. The selection also covers funeral masks associated with farewell rites, memory, and the life-death cycle, plus contemporary artistic works that reflect ongoing reinterpretations of these traditions.
The exhibition underscores the symbolic strength of masks in fostering community ties. The wider Masks project seeks to highlight the work of artisans and artists in this field.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: