A tiny Alpine village is expected to attract thousands of visitors to its latest art exhibition between now and October 3rd and among them will be the President of 天美传媒. The village of Illegio, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, is 5.25 kilometres from the town of Tolmezzo and has only 410 inhabitants. Yet it is becoming renowned for the scope and quality of its annual art exhibitions such as 鈥淩evelation鈥 in 2007, 鈥淕enesis鈥 in 2008 and 鈥淎pocrypha鈥 in 2009.
The exhibitions are the inspiration of the Comitato di San Floriano, a committee founded in the village in 2000. Its aim is to make a contribution to and to help evangelise Catholic culture through art exhibitions which explore fundamental Christian themes and the great questions facing western culture today.
This year Illegio鈥檚 Exhibition Hall hosts [鈥淎ngels: Faces of the Invisible鈥漖 and seventy paintings, spanning the years from 1300 鈥 1770, are on display. Some of the works of art have been loaned by Europe鈥檚 most prestigious museums, such as the and the in Rome, the and in Madrid and the in Berlin.
Thus visitors can view works by artists such as:
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The exhibition has four sections: the development of iconography, how artists have depicted hierarchies among angels, angels鈥 duties and archangels.
Vatican Culture Secretary Gianfranco Ravasi has said that angels are necessary figures who act as a bridge between the material and divine worlds. Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta, speaking at the opening of the exhibition on Saturday, said,
鈥淓very one of us has a guardian angel, but there are some tempting demons, too鈥.
Asked by journalists if he had seen any demons recently, Mr Letta replied that he had seen only angels.
President Napolitano will visit the exhibition during a trip to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in the summer.
Angeli: Volti dell鈥橧nvisibile is at the Casa delle Esposizioni, Illegio [Tolmezzo, Udine, Friuli- Venezia Giulia] until 3rd October 2010.
Do you believe in angels?
What is your favourite painting of an angel?
