Alitalia flies Leonardo Da Vinci painting to Japan

Alitalia’s Boeing 777 “Positano” (flight AZ 784) left Fiumicino airport yesterday afternoon bound for Japan, carrying the renowned painting of “The Annunciation” by the Italian master artist Leonardo Da Vinci. This priceless work takes the form of a large wooden panel, and was painted by the young Leonardo in 1475.

In Japan, it will be the focal point of events linked to the “Italian Spring” celebrations, and in particular the exhibition opening on March 21 in Tokyo, entitled “Leonardo’s Mind”, dedicated to this genius of the Renaissance. Special packaging has been created to protect the valuable work on the journey, in the
form of an extremely strong but lightweight container to withstand shock, pressure and crushing, especially designed for aeronautical use and still covered by industrial secret.

Alitalia is proud to be amongst the more than 120 Italian companies present in Japan to take part in this initiative. The Company has always been involved in cultural events both in Italy and abroad, including most recently: the 51st edition of the Venice Biennial; the exhibition “Antonello da Messina” at the “Scuderie del Quirinale” gallery in Rome; “Lucio Fontana. Venice-New York”, held first at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, then at the Guggenheim Museum in New York; and finally, “China. Birth of an Empire” at Rome’s “Scuderie del Quirinale” gallery.

The masterpieces handled recently by Alitalia Cargo also include the famous “Dancing Satyr” statue from Mazzara del Vallo which was flown from Rome to Tokyo, and a selection of works by Raphael bound for an exhibition at Rome’s Borghese Gallery, flown from Toulouse to Berlin, and then to Rome.