Wine awards the exhibition of the year in Italy: “Caravaggio” 2025 at Palazzo Barberini in Rome

In the increasingly close connection with the world of art and Italy cultural heritage, wine celebrates Italy exhibition of the year: the major show “Caravaggio” 2025, which showcasing 24 masterpieces by Michelangelo Merisi to the general public, works from Italian and international collections as well as private loans, and creating a distinctive synergy among different museums and galleries, set an all-time record at Palazzo Barberini in Rome - over 450,000 visitors, more than 1,300 press articles, 14 million views across digital channels, and an economic impact exceeding 10 million euros - with a success which made it one of the most significant cultural events of the 2025 Jubilee. Its curator, Thomas Clement Salomon, director of the National Galleries of Ancient Art, recently received the edition No. 12 of award “Villa della Torre L’Arte di Mostrare l’Arte” - the “Villa della Torre - The Art of Exhibiting Art” Award at Villa Della Torre in Fumane, a true Renaissance “gem” among the vineyards of Valpolicella, the award ideated by entrepreneur and Cavaliere del Lavoro Marilisa Allegrini. Who emphasized as “business can do a lot for art, just as art can bring life to business by enriching it with beauty, harmony, and balance. This award embodies all of that and is a project we deeply care about”.
After the official greetings from the Mastella Allegrini family, the award jury announced the winning project of the new edition “for its exceptional scientific, curatorial, and exhibition quality, which made it an exemplary project capable of combining academic rigor, artistic sensitivity, and communicative strength”. Stefano Baia Curioni, director of Palazzo Te in Mantua - Villa della Torre is considered a “small Palazzo Te”, sharing the legacy of architect Giulio Romano ed - and president of the jury, stressed the importance of supporting projects of such quality: “creating a major exhibition today is complex and challenging, even in terms of resources. Today more than ever, we must remember that the purpose of an exhibition should be educational, fostering resonances that expand the cultural audience. The value lies in the quality of the project: a great exhibition is one that meets a genuine cultural need, engages with collections and the hosting venue, reveals hidden elements, and generates the unexpected. The unexpected generates emotion, and emotion cements memory, allowing us to develop a more sensitive soul”.
A project, explained Thomas Clement Salomon, the result of collaboration with Galleria Borghese and supported by Intesa Sanpaolo as Main Sponsor which “deeplu marked the life of the National Galleries of Ancient Art. It was an ambitious endeavor, faced with determination and completed thanks to exemplary teamwork. The works displayed at Palazzo Barberini represent a unique heritage; some pieces from private collections had never been shown to the public, while others had not returned to Rome for a long time”. The director also highlighted the value of opening usually inaccessible places to the public: “the visit to Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi, where Caravaggio only mural painting is preserved, transformed the exhibition into a narrative about time, memory, and the ability of places to safeguard identity and meaning”. A concrete demonstration, even in figures, “that major cultural investments generate real and widespread benefits”, and that “culture is a collective project: “Caravaggio” 2025 was the best proof of this”, concluded Salomon, underscoring a principle which finds continuity in the history of Villa Della Torre, made accessible to the public thanks to the vision and commitment of the Mastella Allegrini family who decided to return the place to the community in the name of shared beauty and collective growth thanks also to wine.