I visited this exhibition in June 2011, on a hot summer day in Barcelona. This exhibition was a complete surprise since it was my first time at the museum, and I mostly wanted to see the building. I didn't know anything about Trieste or Magris, so almost everything from the content was a novelty. The exhibition was a review of Claudio Magris's books, an author born in Trieste (Italy), and which texts often refer to the city.
What I liked the most about the exhibition was the museography (or scenography). Each room was completely different from the other, something that contributed to the surprise factor. On top of that, there was a careful thought about involving the senses. In the room dedicated to the book The Danube, I still clearly remember walking in a texturized-blue-padded-serpentine-pathway, surrounded by bright white lights. I would have stayed there all day, since it felt so comfortable and inspiring.
The use of materials was impressive from the entrance. The title of the exhibition was colorful and three-dimensional. Each letter was constructed with different materials and typography. In one of the last spaces, called Secular immigrants, a wall was covered with boxes and suitcases. I always love how visually intense the repetition of the same kind of items is, and how it makes an idea really memorable for the visitors.
From the museography perspective, this exhibition had a little bit of everything. There was the right balance with the use of technology (video, projections, audio), photography, artworks, props and structures. Interesting backgrounds and lightings created completely different atmospheres for every room. I really don't remember feeling lost, because the transition from one place to another was evident, even though the rooms were not stylistically connected. Overall, I recall being the coolest feature: to keep the visitor engaged with the exhibition's central theme (in this case, Magris's books) while using a mixture of museographic resources for each room.