Strategica - through its Fine Art Division- is collaborating with the Brescia Museums Foundation and the City of Brescia for an important loan of art works.
On the occasion of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution- which began on 25th March 1821 and gave origin to modern Greek state - the Brescia Museums Foundation and the City of Brescia have loaned to the Athens Parliament the masterpiece of the Tosio Martinengo Art Gallery “I Profughi di Parga, The Refugees of Parga”, painted in 1831 by Francesco Hayez.
The painting- one of the most famous pieces of Italian romanticism- depicts the exodus of the inhabitants of Parga on the arrival of Turkish soldiers, after the city had been ceded by the English to the Ottoman Empire, in 1817. This had a great resonance in Europe, so much so the Brescia collector Paolo Tosio, who was impressed by the tragedy of these people, commissioned Hayez with this commemorative work.
Thus, the loan also acquires a civic value, providing Greek citizens with the opportunity of personally viewing an artwork that deals with a famous milestone in their history.
The painting left Brescia in early April and will be displayed at the exhibition organized by the Hellenic Parliament in the prestigious halls of Syntagma Square, in Athens.
The initiative is of particular importance also for the Brescia Museums Foundation that has launched an international relations strategy aimed at enhancing the artistic heritage of Brescia, also called “Lioness of Italy”, by means of loans of individual works or the organization of traveling exhibitions. In this important context, Strategica - with its Fine Art division- contributed to insure the painting from the risks associated with the transport from Brescia to Athens, and back; also for the period of stay in the Greek capital.
In the picture: the painting by Francesco Hayez (Brescia Museums Foundation)
