Italy at 150: arrives in Washington

(ANSA) Washington, May 25. Eight precious works from the collections of ’s Accademia Carrara are now on exhibit at the Embassy of Italy in Washington and will remain until April 20, 2012. The exhibit, inaugurated with lectures by Cristina Rodeschini, Director of the Bergamo museum, and Eric Denker, one of the leading experts in Italian art at Washington’s National Gallery, is part of the series of events celebrating the 150th anniversary of , adding--as Ambassador of Italy to the USA Giulio Terzi reminds—to the reflection on the national and local contents of Italian culture. “When art comes to institutional contexts, it creates identity and a sense of belonging. It is certainly the case of this invaluable exhibit of paintings from the Carrara at the Embassy of Italy in the United States. It is a way to draw attention to Italian genius and pursue the dialogue between Bergamo’s Accademia Carrara and Washington’s National Gallery of Art” declared Ambassador Terzi. The collaboration between the Embassy of Italy and the two institutions has given life to an unprecedented exhibit. Curators of the exhibit, which highlights a selection of artists from different periods, including Antonio Mancini (late 1800). Francesco Paglia (late 1600), and Luigi Deleidi (late 1700), are Renato Miracco, the Embassy’s Cultural Attaché, and M. Cristina Rodeschini, Director of the Accademia Carrara and of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. To quote Rodeschini, “it is a splendid opportunity for Bergamo, at the celebration of 150 years of Italian Unification, to provide an international public with a preview of the Accademia Carrara at the most important Italian mission in the world. For a year the paintings from the Carrara will also be ambassadors of culture in the world.”