Meanwhile I am blissfully happy enjoying a hot, sunny weekend on my own in Madrid, our second home!
What really filled me with joy this week is that a very close friend, our Wedding witness and Expat Girl's Godfather, has succeeded in accomplishing the project of a lifetime. He has hit the news with his story as the full-time working dentist who - with the help of the Campania Region - reopened the palace of the Prince of Avelino located in the "ancient centre" of the city of Naples, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I recall a long conversation many moons ago on a sunny terrace overlooking the bay of Naples where he shared his dream with my husband and I. He wanted to enable artists to make art and put on exhibitions by launching a foundation. His vision was to share art with other people, and the only way to do that was to open a space where he could show the people of Naples the collection.
He believed in his dream with all his heart and he made it happen! The foundation is in the city centre, in an area that, at the time this immense project started over ten years ago, was beset by social problems. It was an opportunity to share something beautiful with those who were not used to seeing art.
The idea was based on the social activity of contemporary art and that everything that is shown at the foundation has been produced at the foundation in Naples. And while the artists are invited to Naples, they are not forced to create work about the city.
Over the past five years we have toured the old palazzo every time we visited my hubby's hometown, in awe of all the building's hidden and crumbling beauty and the tremendous restoration work being done. With monumental patience and endless negotiation skills à la Napolitana he has finally inaugurated the "Morra Greco Foundation for Contemporary Art" this month.
Our friend might be the image of an Italian Godfather but his intellectual activity over the past 20 years is reflected in the collection and the foundation. As he himself says so eloquently: " It's an egocentric portrait of the collector!"
To our family he is a cherished friend who we know we can always rely on. Sei un mito!
The view from the foundation onto the San Gennaro Cathedral
Palazzo Caracciolo in 2013 before the renovations began...
... nearly finished in 2018
Stunning upper level gallery
Where old meets new
Don't ask... it's contemporary art
Getting that Cinderella feeling...
Restored frescos from the XVII century by Giacomo Del Po
Italian design at its best
A floor plan of the foundation
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