For Inspiration Only is the first exhibition design by Italo Rota at the Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia.
The show is conceived as an open museum, unfolding across the first two floors of the building through archaeological and artistic collections, and continuing on the third and top floor along the long wing.

The challenge

To create visual coherence among more than 300 heterogeneous objects, spanning different periods and categories, distributed over three levels.
To guide visitors without rigidly framing the curatorial approach, preserving the exploratory nature of the project.

The solution

A clear and measured graphic system designed to support the reading of space and collections.
In the room dedicated to Antonio Fontanesi’s “fantastic bestiary,” the walls become a narrative surface through a collage of animal illustrations, extending the exhibition beyond the displayed works.
The title echoes a small book by Future Systems’ Jan Kaplicky, inviting readers to observe the planet through 100 selected objects. Similarly, For Inspiration Only returns to the city more than 300 previously unseen items from the Palazzo dei Musei archive — from Mameli’s beard to the first Macintosh.