From Van Dyck to Bellotto: splendor at the court of Savoy

The 18th March dinner party at the BOZAR  (Brussels) is yet another example of the company's commitment to culture and, at the same time, promotes the acquisition of Distrigas, which is partnering with Eni in the event.  Besides an exclusive visit to the "Da Van Dyck a Bellotto" exhibition, the evening program also includes an "exhibition in the exhibition" illustrating Eni's history from its foundation in 1953 up to now.

A thematic path plots Eni's course, exploring the themes that characterised it, from the exploration abroad to human resources, from sustainability to the leadership in the European gas market, strengthened by the strategic Distrigas acquisition.

Following the success of the "From Ensor to Bosch" exhibition in 2004, the collaboration between the Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie will continue from spring 2009 with a project that will highlight the connections between Flanders and Piedmont.

In fact Turin museums hold a number of important works by Flemish masters that were part of the private collections of the Savoia family (in the eighteenth century Turin was the capital of the Duchy of Savoia).

In this context, the exhibition aims not only to illustrate the relations that existed between Flemish artists and their colleagues in Piedmont and other regions of Italy, but also to show how these collections were put together. The Turin museums hold an important collection of the House of Savoia, which, in 1832, was kept at the Palazzo Madama and even then was on public display. Later, much of the collection was transferred to the Galleria Sabauda.

Vittorio Emanuele II played a significant role in the unification of Italy -the so-called Risorgimento- and, in 1861, was to become the first King of Italy. Turin was the capital of the newly unified Italy.