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"The Fourth Estate" (1901) by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo is a famous oil on canvas depicting a march of laborers, set in Piazza Malaspina in Volpedo (Alessandria). A symbol of workers' struggle, the work combines Pointillist technique and social themes. It is now housed at the Museo del Novecento in Milan.

It was built by the painter in 1888 and subsequently expanded until it assumed its current appearance, with its large zenithal skylight, in 1896. It was donated by Pellizza's two daughters to the municipality of Volpedo in 1966, and its current appearance is the result of a restoration that brought it back to its original condition between 1987 and 1994, the year it opened to the public.

I know this photo from the film "1900" by Bertolucci

Quarto Stato Volpedo Square

Piazza Castello (or Piazza del Palazzo, but also Piazza Malaspina in the popular version accepted by Pellizza himself, today Piazza Quarto Stato), is the place where the painter, between 1891 and 1901, places the advance of the workers. The square was born towards the middle of the 19th century with the renovation of the stately building, commissioned by the new owners Malaspina, who created a new access on the western side. Giuseppe Pellizza painted The Fourth Estate between 1898 and 1901; the work was the fruit of a long creative journey inspired by the protest of a group of workers, for which he had farmers and artisans chosen from among his fellow villagers from Volpedo pose.

Volpedo has been included in the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy. It is famous for being the birthplace of the painter Giuseppe Pellizza, author of the famous The Fourth Estate, which became a symbol of the workers' question, starting from the 19th century onwards with the second industrial revolution.

Natural-size reproduction of the famous painting by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. Built between 1898 and 1901 and became a symbol of the workers' question, starting from the 19th century onwards with the second industrial revolution. Since July 2022 it has been preserved in the Gallery of Modern Art in Milan.

In Volpedo, the nineteenth-century physiognomy is easily recognizable and allows the visitor to follow an itinerary between art and landscape on the Pelzzino places. We therefore start from the Studio built by Pellizza in 1888, after having decided to live and work in his native country, while remaining in contact with the great international artistic currents. The atelier, which was for the artist a place of work but also of study and meeting with friends, when it was not possible for him to paint en plein air, is open to the public and presents itself as a precious container of Pellizza's memories. The painter's places come to life through the large-format reproductions of ten works scattered throughout the village and placed in selected points, in direct comparison with the landscape glimpses that inspired them. In this open-air museum, the continuous comparison between today and yesterday prompts recourse to the power of art, which gradually manifests itself along the way.