The landmark exhibition “Treasures of the Pharaohs” has opened at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, bringing together 130 exceptional artifacts that narrate the story of ancient Egypt, from royal power to the daily lives of ordinary people, in what organizers describe as a project of major cultural, institutional, and diplomatic significance.
In a recent interview, Tommaso Radelli, President of Mondo Mostre, the organizer of the exhibition, said that the idea of "The Treasure of the Pharaohs" arose about two and a half years ago after a meeting with the Italian ambassador to Cairo at the time, Michele Quaroni.
While discussing some major projects, Radelli recalled telling him that Italy, along with Egypt, China, Greece, and a few other countries, is a cultural superpower.
"Why don't we bring a big exhibition about the Pharaohs to Italy?" I said, that was when it all began.
What were the initial goals you set when you decided to design this exhibition with the Horryea Freedom Hospital and various Egyptian partners?
Well, the theme of the exhibition "Treasure of the Pharaohs" was to create something worthy of the "Kerenali Stable," perhaps the most important exhibition venue in Italy, and to show, 22-23 years after the last major exhibition with Egypt, which was at the Palazzo Grassi in 2002, something that covers part of the enormous scope of 3,000 years of Egyptian history, but at the same time is educational. It is clear that this exhibition does not cover all of Egypt, it is just the beginning, on the contrary.
From a production standpoint, what makes this project different from other exhibitions organized around the world?
Many things make this project unique.
The first element is certainly that we have things here that are 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 years old, some of which are very fragile things, so there was a strong focus on the business security problem. Some are wood materials, and wood is fragile and deteriorates, so very strict temperature and humidity control systems are required.
But in principle, an exhibition like this is not much different from other exhibitions we have done. It has a series of pieces and a history narrated by the gallery director. So the most important aspect for us was communicating with Egyptian specialists in Cairo, with whom we did all the verification and preservation of the works, and they are great specialists, by the way.
You often work with major museums and institutions around the world. Which partners were special to realize this exhibition and how?
Well, we must certainly thank the Italian Embassy in Cairo for all the support they provided in the first part of this project, the part where we got to know the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and a series of famous Egyptian archaeologists who helped us.
Certainly the main elements were building a relationship of trust with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, with Dr. Mohamed Ismail, and with Zahi Hawass, whose name does not need to be introduced, who supervised all the catalog and all the editorial part of the exhibition, and with Tariq Al-Awadi, who was a former director of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, with whom we did all the management of the exhibition.
These are the main people who were important to the exhibition.
Can you describe some of the more complex logistical aspects, such as transportation, preservation and security, of moving things that are considered exceptions to the past?
This is a topic we are very careful about. Nothing could happen to irreplaceable works of art, so the system, especially in building the boxes, wrapping the works, and even before that strengthening the fragile works, was all done in Cairo.
Our job is to maintain this level, and we have Egyptian restorers who come regularly and work with them. So the security of the works is the main topic, and attention that nothing will ever happen, because the loss of a work of art cannot be compensated. We say the project originated about two and a half years ago, maybe three years ago, with the first communications.
It was important for us to understand how the mechanism works, because every institution has its own rules and procedures. It was probably the longest period, because understanding all these mechanisms that were so different from ours was not easy. But after understanding the model as a whole, it is a model we know well now and can be easily replicated.
In recent years, Mondo Mostre has ambitiously organized more than 200 exhibitions for the best publishers. What makes “The Treasure of the Pharaohs” appeal to a wider audience?
“Treasure of the Pharaohs” speaks to a different audience than the regular exhibitions we work on. It speaks to a much wider audience, to families, to young people.
We are packed with schools coming to visit this exhibition. There is a very strong educational aspect.
Besides that, I think Pharaohs has an appeal to a wide audience that few other works of art have on the same level, because it combines history, myth, legend, fantasy, and even a little bit of Hollywood.
As you mentioned, today there was also an exhibition. With the number of visitors, does the private administration have an educational aspect? Or is there another?
The truth is that the success of an exhibition is always measured on all the levels I just mentioned. There is no one dominant.
At this moment, we are closely monitoring what is happening online, because there are indicators that are not easy to perceive in other ways, and tell us what to do to improve the upcoming exhibitions.
Are there future projects that include Egypt or the Mediterranean?
Yes, there is one, I can definitely reveal it because it is coming to Rome.
It is an exhibition of Fayoum paintings, portraits of Fayoum. For the first time, paintings preserved in the Tahrir Museum and in regional museums come from Egypt. Italy will restore its most famous work, Portrait of the Two Brothers, for display here in Rome at the Ara Pacis Museum.
There may be another project in the works for 2027-2028, but it's still in its very early stages.
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