The genius celebration will last all year. A two-euro coin with the master's effigy will be minted
Last week, the Italian government presented the commemoration program planned for the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an event that cultural authorities want to be remembered “throughout the world”.
“It is a celebration that will last the whole year, and it is an opportunity for Italy to celebrate a genius, a genius that is ours, universally appreciated, to the point that the ceremonies will take place all over the world,” declared the head of government, Giuseppe Conte.
“There is no discipline that I have not explored, from arts to letters, biology, anatomy, mathematics and also philosophy. He is immortal,” added Conte during a press conference to present the tributes.
Dozens of events are planned until April 2020, with the involvement of several ministries, including those of Culture, Education and Foreign Affairs.
The Minister of Culture, Alberto Bonisoli, mentioned three exhibitions in particular: “Leonardo da Vinci: Designing the Future” (from April 15 to July 14, in Turin), “Da Vinci, the Model Man of the World” (from April 17 to July 14, in Venice), and one dedicated to Da Vinci the Scientist, which will be on display until June 30 in Rome.
A two-euro coin will be minted with the image of the Florentine master. Four Italian stamps representing some of his works will be distributed from May 2nd, the anniversary of his death.
“It's so Italian and we are willing to encourage countries to celebrate” the date, added Bonisoli, who will help the French organize the major exhibition that will open at the Louvre Museum later this year.
– The Mona Lisa… by Salvini –
A controversy provoked at the end of 2018 by the Italian Secretary of State for Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, questioned the agreement that provided for Italy to lend France its paintings by Leonardo da Vinci for the Paris exhibition, in exchange for the loan of works by Raphael for the celebrations next year of this Florentine master (1483-1520).
The situation has since calmed down, with the help of French presidents Emmanuel Macron and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The latter will go on May 2, invited by France, to Amboise (where Da Vinci spent the end of his days), and to Chambord, two famous castles in Loira (center).
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, accustomed to provocations against France, did not hesitate to recall the centuries-old controversy surrounding “The Mona Lisa”, displayed in the Louvre.
“I announce that we are working with the French ambassador to recover 'The Mona Lisa'”, declared ironically Salvini, also a leader of the far right.
“It will be more comfortable for all those who want to see it up close. Jokes aside, obviously, we don’t need more international crises”, added the government strongman.
Many rumors continue to fuel the persistent feeling in Italy today that Napoleon Bonaparte stole Leonardo da Vinci's famous “Mona Lisa”, as well as hundreds of other works of art.
One of the hypotheses chosen to explain the theft, in 1911, of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum is that the perpetrator, a modest Italian bricklayer, acted out of patriotism to return the work of art to his homeland.
On the other hand, it is considered certain that the artist sold the painting to King Francis I, who had invited him to settle in the castle of Amboise at the end of his life.
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