The Italian Cultural Institute of Prague opens today to the public, and until May 3rd, the exhibition "Gabriele Basilico. Rome", promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture in collaboration with MUFOCO – Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Gabriele Basilico Archive, under the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Prague.

Featuring a selection of 60 works ranging from his 1980s projects to more recent ones, from the black-and-white photography that made him famous to his later works in color, the exhibition offers a unique insight into Gabriele Basilico’s visual research and his deep connection with Rome. The great master of Italian photography undertook twenty professional assignments in the Eternal City between 1985 and 2011.

Curated by Matteo Balduzzi (MUFOCO) and Giovanna Calvenzi (Gabriele Basilico Archive), the exhibition is designed specifically for the evocative spaces of the Institute— a 17th-century building that housed the Italian Congregation in Prague for centuries. The narrative follows a primarily chronological order, retracing the major occasions in which Basilico explored Rome through his lens.

"Gabriele Basilico. Rome" arrives in Prague as its first international stop after the successful exhibition at the National Roman Museum – Palazzo Altemps.

On February 20th, the Institute hosted a press conference and a lectio magistralis by curator Matteo Balduzzi for students of UMPRUM and the Art and Design Institute of Prague. In the afternoon, the book "Gabriele Basilico. Rome" (Electa) was presented, introduced by IIC director Marialuisa Pappalardo, with contributions from the book’s three curators—Angelo Piero Cappello, Matteo Balduzzi, and Giovanna Calvenzi—as well as Davide Rondoni and Gabriella Guerci, respectively the president and director of MUFOCO.