Le Venezie. Cultura e Territorio
The Masi Foundation has published its own bilingual (Italian and English) journal since 2005. This is the house-organ of the Foundation and records its life and activities as well as containing cultural and artistic information about the region, about Venetian personalities and about the ever-interesting worlds of wine and local gastronomy.
Below the editorial of the magazine, number 58.
"THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF BEAUTY"
We may well doubt Dostojevski’s claim that the world will be saved by Beauty, but it’s a good bet that “the world where we live needs beauty so as not to sink into despair.” Pope Paul VI’s words from 1965 ring true to the principles behind the choice of winners for the Masi Civiltà Veneta Prize: we are searching for Beauty, even in times marred by so much tragedy and ugliness, and hanging onto hope however desperately. “Beauty, like truth, is what brings joy to the hearts of men,” explained the Pontiff, a friend of contemporary artists, “it is a precious fruit that resists the wear and tear of time, that unites generations and brings them into agreement.”
In short, in the words of the poet John Keats, “a thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Beauty gives us the power to challenge the inexorable hourglass of time, but it can do more. Art historian Irene Baldriga explains that there is a relationship between aesthetic experience and the exercise of civic virtues. “The ability to understand the value of the common good and of diversity as wealth is nourished by beauty, and by harmony…”
This is why a new civic education is called for that includes the ‘aesthetics of citizenship’: the enjoyment of beauty as an incentive to pay attention to and care for the common good and the Beauty that it brings (from the environment to urban space, from cultural heritage to the people themselves…). This is the virtuous circle to which the Masi Prize also seeks to make its contribution.
