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Castello di Albola opens first art exhibition

11 September 2023 By Louis Thomas

Chianti Classico producer Castello di Albola, part of the Zonin1821 portfolio, has opened Dialoghi Paralleli – a new exhibition at its Radda winery that seeks to explore the relationship between the works of two artists close to the estate.

The exhibition, translating to Parallel Dialogues, opened yesterday (1o September) and closes on 30 December.

The works displayed are from Fabio Calvetti and Armando Xhomo, both of whom live in/around Florence.

Xhomo said of the interaction between wine and art: “Wine has guided art and artists since the beginning of time. We can find paintings where wine is being tasted or where vineyards are being worked starting from the Romans to the Greeks but also in the late
Renaissance with the masterpiece Baccus of Caravaggio, in the Impressionism of Cézanne’s works like in Salvador Dali’s considerations. From Umar KhayyĀm’s poems to Leopardi’s without forgetting the biblical scriptures where wine is symbol of joy and key element of life.”

“Now,” Xhomo continued, “here, as setting there’s a medieval village, whose farmhouses and vineyard rows are rooted to the Etruscan and Roman culture but also in the history of the Early Medieval Ages families like the Acciaioli, Pazzi and Ginori til the Zonin Family. Here: traditions, feelings, work and art found at Castello di Albola their home”.

Whereas the works of Xhomo have been described as “energetic” with a vision that ranges “between human and feral”, those of Calvetti are deemed to be more “intimate, complex” and “melancholic”. Like a good food and wine pairing, the idea is that the interaction of the two artists’ works will enrich one another.

Calvetti said: “Beauty can be an easy thing and in Tuscany we know that well. Certain places, like Castello di Albola, are the most obvious witnesses of it and it’s not only about the ‘genius loci’ but also the philosophy and work carried on starting from the Etruscan to the Renaissance and the modern willing of preserving its harmony and balance. Apart from representing an historical and cultural heritage unlike any other, Castello di Albola looks at art like an expression of its own identity. To be here, in its prestigious spaces, it’s a unique experience for my art.”

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