(VEE) USA, 668 MASTERPIECES BY 345 ITALIAN ARTISTS SHOWN ONLINE

(VELINO) Roma, 3 Oct - As of today, it is possible to admire online 668 masterpieces by 345 Italian artists from 39 museums in the United States. The artists span from Leonardo, Michelangelo and Caravaggio to Modigliani, Stradivarius and Canova. The "Italian Treasures in the U.S." online gallery can be seen on the site www.ItalyinUS.org, which displays a vast and varied collection of artworks, including paintings and sculptures, design objects and a selection of musical instruments that can be browsed through by artist, period, typology, museum of key word. The online catalogue is published in parallel to the paper edition, curated by Renato Miracco, the cultural attache' of the Italian Embassy in the U.S.A., which was presented last April at Washington's Library of Congress. The website's key works are: simplicity and immediacy and thoroughness and care of design, an area curated by the RovattiDesign Agency of Milan. "Italian Treasures is a trove of beautiful things and the fruit of a considerable research effort to which we have devoted much time and energy," said Italian Ambassador in Washington, Armando Varricchio. He went on: "It is also an instrument open to future contributions. Indeed, many are the artworks catalogued, although there is still ample room to extend the project to other American museums that might gradually want to join it. I hope that Italian art-lovers will like it as they will be able to access an unprecedented set of information in just a few clicks. The aim that inspired the ItalyinUS project is not only to showcase Italy in the United States with a view to enhancing the image, already widespread here, of a fascinating and dynamic country, but also to foster the sharing of ideas, projects and energies. We will accept with pleasure the suggestions of visitors, which are extremely important in order to continuously improve this instrument". Italian Treasures is not only the pride and glory of the ItalyinUS.org website, the culture portal curated by Italy's diplomatic network in the U.S. which was created following the Year of Italian Culture in the United States and was expanded over time with a new set of instruments. Among these is the ample space dedicated to social media channels through Twitter sliders - posting the tweets by the Italian diplomatic and consular network, in addition to those by the offices of ICE, ENIT and of the Italian Chambers of Commerce in the U.S.A. - and Facebook, which has a link to the "twin" page dedicated to Italian culture https://www.facebook.com/ItalyInUs.org; the possibility of consulting newsletters periodically distributed by single Consulates and Italian Cultural Institutes in the United States; the ample "Discover Italy" section with a long list of suggestions on travel itineraries, big events, the address of Italian schools, and databases containing a list of museums, language courses, sites dedicated to 'Made in Italy' products, theatres and museums. Thanks to interactive maps on the homepage, the site offers an immediate coast-to-coast picture of the major events programmed but also of the amazing network of cultural centres, museums, associations and universities promoting Italy in the U.S.: hundreds of people who, day after day, launch new ideas and projects, provide information and offer useful services, thus contributing to reinforcing the image and knowledge of Italy on this side of the Atlantic. vel
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