Italian Embassy to the Holy See honors Michelangelo Pistoletto’s “The Flag of the World 1 + 1 = 3” project, February 4th, 2026

Italian Ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto, gave the opening remarks at Rome’s Palazzo Borromeo (the Italian Embassy to the Vatican) in honor of Italian artist-sculptor Michelangelo Pistoletto.

 
Pistoletto was present through a video call and discussed his project, “The Flag of the World 1 +1 =3”.   The 92 year-old artist, who is renowned for the “poor art” genre”, has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for artistic work in the name of peace.

 
Keynote speakers also included the president of the Venice International University, Ambassador Umberto Vattani (the former all-powerful Secretary-General of the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry). 

 

 

Diana “The Huntress” statue unveiled in Rome, January 22nd, 2026

The “Palazzo Pietre” hotel of central Rome held a special evening as it unveiled the statue of Diana, aka “The  Huntress”. The statue dates back to the 2^nd century A.D.  

 

                                      

In Roman mythology Diana was an early Italian goddess and was associated with  nature, hunters, wildlife, childbirth, the night, virginity and in later literature also the Moon.  Her Greek equivalent is Artemis. 

The statue has had a long history of having “travelled around the world” as it first made its way to a well-known Parisian art gallery.  It eventually ended up in the United States in the private collection of Stephen and Peggy Fossett (from their galleries in California, Illinois and Colorado).  Thanks to both the Italian and American governments the statue has returned definitely to Rome. 

 
 

Bigaignon and Rhinoceros Gallery’s “Image as Spatial Experience” exhibit, January 18th, 2026

Rome’s Rhinoceros Gallery (it’s run by the Fendi Sisters’ Foundation and it’s located a hop, skip and a jump from the Circus Maximus) is currently hosting together with the Paris-based Bigaignon gallery the “Image as Spatial Experience” exhibit.  

This is the closing chapter of the gallery’s trilogy.  The exhibit itself involves more than ten international artists.

The exhibit runs until March 15^th, 2026.