Italy hosts EU art exhibition

The setting is breath-taking, the exhibits priceless and the occasion is part of the EU’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s president had asked for a piece of art from each of the 27-member nations.

And they responded with this display in Rome’s Quirinale palace: a Turner from Britain, a 5000-year-old statue from Malta, pieces spanning Ancient Greek ,Byzantine, Renaissance and modern art.

Napolitano’s idea was to demonstrate the cultural values that unite member countries rather than the political differences that occasionally divide them.

French President Jacques Chirac, thought it was such a good idea he sent his country’s most famous piece of statuary to ponder the future among the riches from the past.

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