At the center of MAXXI's research is the investigation of the Mediterranean, a place of coexistence and dialogue, guardian of a common cultural and identity heritage that today more than ever it is necessary to reiterate. The museum's cultural program therefore gives rise to a new cycle of in-depth studies aimed at dealing with the theme of the Mare Nostrum through the lens of art, architecture and design.

Starting from a major retrospective dedicated to Riccardo Dalisi (Potenza 1931 – Naples 2022), a year after his death, and from the homage to Mimmo Jodice with a group of photographs from the Mediterraneo series, MAXXI starts the autumn season with two exhibitions dedicated to research by the two artists, expressions of a Mediterranean spirit that brings local themes to the center of global visions and vice versa. Both projects are part of the new programming of MAXXI Architettura.

Riccardo Dalisi was one of the most multifaceted Italian designers of the last decades, unconventional, revolutionary and difficult to catalogue. Moving freely between architecture and design, art and craftsmanship, participation and social commitment, academic research and popular traditions, he has in fact explored paths and approaches which – although often misunderstood – today stand out as pioneering experiences for tackling the great design challenges of our times.

The exhibition at MAXXI presents Dalisi's work in its extreme variety and vastness for the first time. From creative workshops with the children of Naples (those in Rione Traiano are told in a series of photographs by Mimmo Jodice), to revolutionary work in the field of design (such as ultra-poor design, characterized by poor techniques and recycled materials, among including sculptures, lights and tin objects created by migrant workshops and unemployed people). From built architecture (such as the Stock Exchange in Naples, built with Michele Capobianco and Massimo Pica Ciamarra in 1964, or the "creative restoration" interventions in the towns of Irpinia hit by the 1980 earthquake) to the imagined one, with visionary and unattainable projects, utopian plans and ironic but provocative drawings which, taken together, evoke a surreal, poetic and critical world at the same time.