The “Aperitivi in danza” Festival, organized by MOTUS at the Centro Internazionale d’Arte (Via Mencattelli 5/7, Siena), returns on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026, at 8:00 PM with an event showcasing different artistic languages: the painting of Massimo Innocenti and the cinema of Mariella Bussolati.
As always, the evening will open with the opening of the exhibition Tremula la sera… by Massimo Innocenti—an artist, art critic, and organizer of exhibitions and cultural events working in Italy and abroad. Co-founder of the Caffè Michelangiolo in Florence, of the magazine Noi, and of the publishing house La vertigine di Prometeo, Innocenti pursues a rich artistic practice in which poetry plays an essential role. Indeed, his artistic output is inextricably linked to the poetic dimension, as evidenced by the collections that he has published: Ventur. Fino a quando (Forte Belvedere, Florence 2015), Polisemie, Sismo, Terracotte (Villa Pecori Giraldi, Borgo San Lorenzo), Dodecasillabo, Evangelio (exhibition in the town of Scarperia), and Omaggio a Dino Campana (linked to the Dino Campana Prize in Marradi). He also published, together with the writer Silvia Anmavuta, the essay Uno sguardo sul 1900.
The vernissage will be followed by the screening of the film La città invisibile. Milano che non appare by Mariella Bussolati—official selection at the Papa International Film Festival. The film takes the viewer on a journey between two faces of the city: the glittering Milan of fashion and luxury, and the hidden Milan of poverty and homelessness. Through raw imagery and firsthand accounts, the film reveals the contradictions of a metropolis where sleeping bags and tents appear beneath boutique shop windows, and where corporate canteens become makeshift shelters. The voices of those living on the streets share stories of loss, resilience, and ingenuity, unveiling the complexities of a phenomenon often reduced to stereotypes. Dreams, talents, and bonds of solidarity emerge, alongside the hardships faced by Italians and migrants wich confront prejudice and rejection.
Mariella Bussolati , a journalist with a degree in Agricultural Science and expertise in synergistic agriculture, graduated at the Scuola (1986) and at the Scuola di Cinema e Televisione Luchino Visconti in Milan (2013), beginning her career in social-issue video production in 2009. She writes about theater, science, and the environment, and produces documentaries on various subjects, all of which are rooted in community life. His films include: L’amore che sbrana (winner of the Short Doc Award at the New York Festival of New Cinema in 2015); Zampe uomini e radici (selected for the Sicilia Ambiente Festival 2018 and Food Film Fest Bergamo 2023); Punching the City (winner of the Excellence Award in Viewer Impact at the Docs Without Borders Film Festival; finalist at the Chungju International Martial Arts & Action Film Festival in Korea); La boxe nei quartieri (winner of the Award of Merit at the Impact DOCS Awards); Dentro il parco (Best Documentary at the Aphelion Film Festival in Rome); All That’s Left to Me, A Gaza Story (2023; selected for the Festival de video y cine politico Carlota in Vienna and the Luleå International Film Festival in Sweden; finalist at the Prague Film Festival; semi-finalist at the Milan Filmmaker Awards).
The event will end with a buffet, to allow the artists and the public to interact in a convivial atmosphere.
The ticket price is 12 euros (reduced 10 euros).
Information and reservations: info@motusdanza.it or +39 0577 286980.