In December 2016, Urban Vision launched a new business unit in the beautiful Sala Regia – a state hall in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, nestled between the Sistine Chapel and Cappella Paolina. The unit’s aim is to strengthen and sharpen the company’s ten-year funding commitment for projects aimed at enhancing culture.
By identifying cultural heritage in need of enhancement, and through an historical and artistic value analysis, Urban Vision’s new unit will design innovative new ways of supporting Italian artistic heritage, in line with the values and communication strategies of potential sponsors who are able to enrich the project with original and engaging content, as well as their existing relationship with their audience.
Along with the unveiling of the unit, the guests of the event were able to admire a watercolor reproduction of the exquisite “Cortile del Pappagallo” (the Parrot’s Courtyard) fresco, which dates back to 1500. Small fragments of the original work, known as ‘Hortus Conclusus’, are visible today on the upper part of the walls of the courtyard, and some fragments are preserved in the Vatican Museums, awaiting full restoration. The architect Pietro Ligorio and the painter Taddeo Zuccari were the creators of ‘Hortus Conclusus’, after a commission from Pope Pius IV. The reproduction was made possible thanks to a 5-year study, conducted by architect Maria Mari, who wrote a book dedicated to the fresco, and the architect Marcella Morlacchi, who reproduced the original drawings in watercolor.
The launch event was an opportunity for a discussion of modern art patronage and partnership between private and public institutions within the wider scope of protection of cultural heritage. The event was attended by a number of dignitaries from the Vatican, including Msgr. Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, and Cardinal Raffaele Farina. Speaking at the event, Gianluca De Marchi, Chairman of Urban Vision, said “We are extremely honored and proud to have contributed to the completion of this important project which allowed the reproduction, after extensive studies and analysis, of the original drawings of the lost fresco of the Cortile del Pappagallo. This extraordinary event is a first step in our search for improvement and will help us to seize new opportunities and maximise the strategic value of our artistic heritage.”
