The exhibition "Forms and colors of pre-Roman Italy. Canosa di Puglia" curated by Massimo Osanna and Luca Mercuri was inaugurated today, November 18th, at Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, as part of the project "The tale of beauty," a program of exhibitions and initiatives in the Italian Cultural Institutes abroad. The program, aimed at enhancing and promoting Italian cultural heritage abroad, preserved in the deposits of museums and state archaeological parks, is the result of a cooperation agreement signed in January 2023 between the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The exhibition was inaugurated in July 2023 in the presence of the President of the Republic Mattarella at the Italian Cultural Institute in Santiago, Chile, and was then exhibited at the Italian Institutes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in San Paolo, Brazil, before arriving at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The narrative now continues at Castel Sant'Angelo, one of Italy's most famous and visited museums, to confirm the importance and cultural relevance of this project. From November 19, 2024, to February 2, 2025, it is hosted in the Pio IV Rooms accessible from the Giretto Breve, open to the public for the occasion.

The inauguration was attended by the President of the VII Commission (Culture, Science, and Education) of the Chamber of Deputies, Hon. Federico Mollicone, the General Director of MiC Museums and curator of the exhibition, Prof. Massimo Osanna, the Vice General Director for Public and Cultural Diplomacy at MAECI and Central Director for the promotion of Italian language and culture abroad, Dr. Filippo La Rosa, the Deputy Director of Castel Sant'Angelo and curator of the exhibition, Dr. Luca Mercuri, the Director of the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto, Dr. Stella Falzone, and the Mayor of Canosa di Puglia, Vito Malcangio. Also present were Arch. Francesco Longobardi, Deputy Director of the Swabian Castle of Bari - Regional Directorate of National Museums Puglia, Arch. Anita Guarnieri Superintendent of Archaeology Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Foggia and Barletta-Andria-Trani, Dr. Francesca Romana Paolillo, National Superintendent for Underwater Heritage, and Sergio Fontana, President of the Canosina Archaeological Foundation.