L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano into the government's Mat- t e i P l a n , a n i n i t i a t i v e designed to build strategic, economic, and cultural con- nections between Italy and N o r t h A f r i c a n n a t i o n s . Tagliaferri noted that the initiative enabled an ongo- ing, high-level cultural dia- logue between Egypt and I t a l y . F r o m a n e c o n o m i c perspective, extending the exhibition route to the Unit- ed States allowed organizers t o l e v e r a g e e c o n o m i e s o f scale. By splitting and shar- ing major operational and transport costs across multi- ple host institutions, orga- nizers avoided absorbing the full cost of returning arti- facts immediately to Cairo. To fully appreciate the significance of this interna- I a n d A m e n e m o p e . T h e showcase also incorporates discoveries from the "Gold- en City," featuring objects from 2021 excavations on Luxor's west bank. Navigating the transition t o a t r a v e l i n g e x h i b i t i o n required complex logistics. S p e c i a l i z e d c o u r i e r s a n d technicians traveled directly from Italy to supervise every phase of packaging, interna- tional transit, insurance pro- tocols, and installation at the de Young. Beyond the showcase of ancient crafts- m a n s h i p , M r . T a g l i a f e r r i emphasized two key drivers behind the tour: soft-power d i p l o m a c y a n d e c o n o m i c e f f i c i e n c y . W i t h i n I t a l y ' s p o l i t i c a l f r a m e w o r k , t h e exhibition was integrated t i o n a l c o l l a b o r a t i o n , o n e must look closely at the arti- facts that made the journey f r o m C a i r o t o R o m e , a n d now to San Francisco. Each object tells a story not only of ancient belief and artistry, b u t a l s o o f t h e c o m p l e x preservation efforts required to bring them to a global audience. Positioned at the start of the exhibition, the Triad of Menkaure is a masterwork of Old Kingdom sculpture. Carved from dark stone, the statue features Pharaoh Menkaure flanked by Hathor, the goddess of joy and motherhood, and a smaller female figure repre- s e n t i n g t h e T h e b a n province. All three figures are depicted stepping for- ward with their left foot, a classic Egyptian artistic con- vention signaling vitality, movement, and eternal life. As Curator Renée Dreyfus notes, placing the pharaoh on equal footing with the divine realm underscored the fundamental Egyptian belief that the king was not merely an earthly ruler, but a living god on earth who would merge with Osiris in the afterlife. Another striking golden artifact in the exhibition is the anthropoid coffin lid of Queen Ahhotep II, dat- ing to the mid-1500s BC. Ahhotep II was a powerful figure who co-ruled Egypt a l o n g s i d e h e r y o u n g s o n . Her gilded sarcophagus fea- tures intricate feather pat- t e r n i n g r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e protective wings of the sky goddess Nut, complete with inlaid eyes made of calcite and obsidian accented with k o h l - l i k e b l u e c o s m e t i c detailing. W h i l e T u t a n k h a m u n remains a household name, the 1940 discovery of the royal tombs at Tanis by French archaeologist Pierre Montet was equally extraor- dinary. Located in the Nile Delta beneath a temple com- plex dedicated to Amun, the undisturbed tombs of 21st- Dynasty pharaohs yielded breathtaking gold treasures. B e c a u s e t h e d i s c o v e r y occurred on the eve of World War II, it received far less global press coverage than Tutankhamun's tomb had p h a r a o n i c e x h i b i t i o n s . Rather than returning the a r t i f a c t s d i r e c t l y t o t h e G r a n d E g y p t i a n M u s e u m ( G E M ) i n C a i r o a f t e r t h e Rome closing, the organiz- ing partners saw an oppor- tunity to take the narrative further. Curated by Renée Drey- fus, Curator in Charge of Ancient Art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, alongside renowned Egyp- tologist Dr. Zahi Hawass, the exhibition spans thou- sands of years of Pharaonic history and includes several world-class masterpieces. Among the standout pieces is the Triad of Menkaure, an O l d K i n g d o m s c u l p t u r e depicting Pharaoh Menkau- re and the gold of Psusennes S p a n n i n g t h r e e m i l l e n n i a o f ancient Egyptian h i s t o r y , T r e a - s u r e s o f t h e Pharaohs arrives at San Francisco's de Young Muse- u m a s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y show, bringing together 130 rare artifacts. J u s t d a y s b e f o r e t h e grand opening at the end of July, we met Fabio Taglia- f e r r i , P r e s i d e n t o f A l e s S.p.A., an in-house company of the Italian Ministry of C u l t u r e . T a g l i a f e r r i i s a prominent figure in the Ital- ian cultural sector, and his work focuses on managing and promoting significant artistic and archaeological exhibitions to ensure their accessibility and public suc- cess. The conversation high- l i g h t e d I t a l y ' s r o l e i n a r e m a r k a b l e j o u r n e y t h a t brought this world-class col- l e c t i o n a c r o s s t h e g l o b e . According to Mr. Tagliaferri, the decision to export the show to North America was born out of its great success in Italy, where it drew over 400,000 visitors and more than $5.75 million at the box office. Managed by Ales S.p.A. u n d e r a n a g r e e m e n t between the Scuderie del Quirinale and the Ministry of Culture, the venue served as the exhibition's first home from October 2025 through June 2026. "It was an initia- tive of ours at Ales, together w i t h o u r p r i v a t e p a r t n e r MondoMostre," Mr. Taglia- ferri explained. "The exhibi- t i o n h a d a n e n o r m o u s impact in Italy. Among the hundreds of thousands of attendees, sixty thousand were children and students. From a box-office perspec- tive, generating over five m i l l i o n d o l l a r s p l a c e s i t among the top results ever recorded for our temporary exhibitions." Featuring more t h a n o n e h u n d r e d r a r e pieces, many leaving Egypt for the very first time, the collection highlights excep- tional gold craftsmanship r a r e l y s e e n i n t r a v e l i n g From Scuderie del Quirinale to the de Young: Italy's role in bringing the Pharaohs to San Francisco SERENA PERFETTO SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Installation view of Treasures of the Pharaoh at the De Young Museum (Photo: Gary Sexton - Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)

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