A photographic exhibition, an art installation and a program of events promote Syrian cultural heritage through the knowledge of the centuries-old cultivation and transformation of the flower, a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity

From 4 July to 1 October 2023, the Gardens of the Royal Museums welcome The Rose of Damascus. From Syria to Turin , a cultural project conceived and conducted by the Royal Museums with the Syria Trust for Development and the Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture , aimed at promoting the role and importance of the centuries-old Syrian cultural heritage in the Mediterranean basin through the Damascus Rose , one of the best known and most iconic products of that region.

Delicate, but not fragile, appreciated all over the world for its perfume, medicinal properties and use as a spice, the Rosa damascena has been evoked in literary sources, such as in the collection One Thousand and One Nights, and praised by poets such as Shakespeare and Nizar Qabbani. For centuries, Syrian farmers have handed down the knowledge and skills of growing and processing the flower from generation to generation. In modern times, rose cultivation has developed in the small town of Al-Mrah, on the eastern Qalamoun mountain range, in an area that extends into the countryside north of Damascus. At the end of 2019, UNESCO inscribed the practices and crafts related to the Rose of Damascus in the village of Al-Mrah in the List of Intangible Heritage of Humanity .

With the inauguration of the photographic exhibition La Rosa di Damasco. From Syria to Turin and the Floral Tapestry of Craftsmanship artistic installation , present in the Grove of the Royal Gardens until 1 October 2023, the program begins which, from 4 to 7 July, offers the opportunity to deepen the art, the Syrian history, literature and archeology through cinema, meetings, debates and musical tributes, to discover the path of the Rose from the Middle East to the heart of Europe and the many interweavings with Syrian culture.