New Delhi: Italy is leveraging culture as a key pillar of its growing partnership with India, with Italian Ambassador Antonio Bartoli asserting that cultural exchanges will continue to foster stronger people-to-people connections, greater mutual understanding and “ever and ever stronger bonds” between the two countries.
Speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition ‘One Mother, Many Mother Tongues’ at the Humayun’s Tomb Museum in New Delhi on Monday, Bartoli highlighted the significance of showcasing Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli’s iconic ‘Madonna and Child’ in India for the first time.
The exhibition, featuring 27 artworks and sculptures sourced from 13 museums and three private collections across India and Italy, has been organised by the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre in collaboration with the Humayun’s Tomb Museum.
Botticelli, Mater Matuta among highlights
Alongside Botticelli’s 15th-century masterpiece from Florence’s Museo Stibbert, the exhibition includes the celebrated statues of Mater Matuta, produced in central Italy between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC. The sculptures depict seated female figures holding one or more children and are associated with the ancient goddess believed to protect mothers and children.
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The exhibition explores motherhood as a universal theme cutting across faiths, cultures and civilisations, bringing together artworks spanning from 2500 BC to the 15th century.
“There is the image of a mother and child, one of the most enduring images of visual narratives, and what we have inaugurated today is a unique conversation across centuries of civilisations, highlighting the existence of a shared cultural link,” Bartoli said.
‘We share our gems with our friends’
Emphasising Italy’s commitment to cultural diplomacy, the ambassador said the exhibition builds on a series of high-profile artistic exchanges between the two nations.
“We share our gems with our friends,” Bartoli said, recalling that Italy had brought Caravaggio’s ‘Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy’ to India last year.
“This year we brought another master Botticelli, showcased with a remarkable selection of India's sculptures, dating from 2500 BC to 11th century, and Mater Matuta, Etruscan goddess protecting mothers and children, which also symbolises the rebirth of the day through the dawn,” he added.
Culture central to India-Italy strategic partnership
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said cultural exchanges remain central to India’s engagement with the world.
“As India extends its global cultural footprint, we remain committed to building bridges between civilisations and celebrating our shared human heritage,” Shekhawat said.
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Bartoli noted that the exhibition reflects the willingness of museums, scholars and institutions from both countries to collaborate on projects of academic quality, cultural relevance and public interest.
“We are bringing together artworks from 13 museums and three private collections, from Italy and India. And, this is a clear testament of the willingness and ability to work together. Museums, scholars, public institutions… To create objects of academic quality, cultural relevance and also public interest,” he said.
Year of Culture and Tourism planned for 2027
The envoy linked the cultural initiatives to the broader strategic relationship between the two countries, pointing to the elevation of India-Italy ties to a Special Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rome on May 20.
“These exhibitions underline the shared commitment of the two governments to make culture a fundamental pillar of the special strategic partnership,” Bartoli said.
He revealed that leaders of both countries had announced a Year of Culture and Tourism in 2027, which will feature exhibitions, restoration and archaeology collaborations, design initiatives and other cultural programmes.
“We also intend to organise a business forum dedicated to cultural and creative industries, bringing together not just institutions, but also common bodies and professionals, across both countries,” he said.
Shared values, shared stories
Bartoli said Europe and India are connected by common values despite their linguistic and cultural diversity.
“Europe and India have many mother tongues, and they share stories and common values, universal values, across our main languages, traditions, cultures,” he said.
“We believe that Italy and Europe at large, and India, share the same vision, which is noticeable to underscore that we have a common idea – united in diversity, an idea rooted in the history of India.”
The ambassador expressed confidence that cultural engagement would continue to strengthen bilateral ties.
“We are confident that culture will continue to be a vehicle for friendship and interaction between people and societies, and a powerful driver for business, mutual understanding, and ever and ever stronger bonds,” Bartoli said.
The exhibition ‘One Mother, Many Mother Tongues’ will remain open until the first week of August, while another ongoing exhibition, ‘Shared Stories’, showcasing Rome’s Asian Collection, will continue at the venue until the end of August.
(With inputs from Agencies)
