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2011 is the year for cultural exchanges between Italy and Russia.
A great many institutions in both countries are involved in the scheme.
The response from the Florentine museums was – how could it not be? – totally positive.
So, a dynamic joint path-building operation with our Russian colleagues
resulted in two initiatives, one of which is just like a fairytale come true:
the arrival of a selection of the treasures from the Kremlin in Moscow at the Museo degli Argenti in the Pitti Palace.
This exhibition, which will be open from 27 May until 11 September 2011,
is half of a genuine exchange, since during the same period
a selection of the Medici treasures is setting off from the Museo degli Argenti and other Florentine museums
to arrive at the exhibition location at the Kremlin.
In both cases, we're at the heart of the formation of dynastic treasures:
on one hand our Medici collections, and on the other those of the Tsar.
Both make this glimpse into this world of creativity and precious gifts truly fascinating.
The Kremlin is proposing a selection of objects from the so-called Armoury,
Which, beginning from the twelfth century and hence at the height of the Byzantine legacy,
was the place where the Tsar collected the precious artefacts destined to the court
Produced by the goldsmiths and artisans situated in the Kremlin itself.
It was also the repository for the precious gifts presented by other European sovereigns of the time.
The exhibition also includes precious objects made of gold, in filigree, with pearl-studded embroidery and so on
from the Kremlin cathedrals, thus also representing
the sacred aspect of these marvellous accessories.
The Kremlin exhibition at the Museo degli Argenti really is an extremely fascinating show
that takes us into the heart of ancient Russia
and also allows us to see how lively the cultural and artistic exchanges were
between countries that were so distant, and relatively little-known to each other.
Nevertheless, these exchanges were always made on the basis of reciprocal admiration.
And let's not forget that Aristotele Fioravanti, an Italian architect,
was also present when the Kremlin was being built
and made a significant contribution to the construction of the cathedral and some of the other buildings.