Sten & Lex are by far our favorite Roman street artists. Their work is gorgeous at the same time that it’s brainy. They wrestle with Italy’s long history in the most contemporary of fashions. And so we nearly swooned when the Wooster Collective published the latest from these two: it’s an image from Piazza Magione in Palermo depicting Pope Sergius (reigned 687-701), the first Pope born in Palermo.
“I introduced Liz to beer and she introduced me to Bulgari.” That’s a quote straight from the mouth of Richard Burton, describing his relationship with Liz Taylor and the time they spent together in Rome while making the blockbuster movie, Cleopatra, in the 1960s. The cost of making Cleopatra nearly bankrupted Twentieth-Century Fox; Richard Burton’s wallet must have been lightened substantially too, judging from the display of Elizabeth Taylor’s private collection of jewels that’s part of the Bulgari exhibit at the Palazzo delle Esposizione titled, “Between Eternity and History. 125 Years of Italian Jewels.”
Celebrating the company’s 125th anniversary of activity in Rome and its rise to prominence as one of the leading jewelers of the world, the exhibit brings together nearly 500 objects created betwen 1884 and 2009. The sparkling, glittering necklaces, bracelets, rings, tiaras, watches, cigarette cases, purses, and more are arranged in chronological and thematic sections, beginning with a display of silver artefacts manufactured by the founder of the firm, Sotirio Bulgari, a Greek silversmith who settled in Rome in 1881.
From there, one is treated to a Grand Tour of the Bulgari style, from diamond-set jewels in the Art Deco style to the emergence of the company’s own style in the 1960s to its innovative and daring designs of the 1980s and 1990s to the present day. There are gorgeous and intricately-crafted objects and there are massive gems — a necklace created in 2009 is embellished (if one can use that word) with a 300 carat emerald.
It’s not just the jewels that are lovely. This is one of the most finely mounted exhibits we’ve seen in Rome, with the exception only of the Valentino retrospective at the Ara Pacis Museum. Fashion knows how to put on a pretty face in the Eternal City. Visitors to the Bulgari exhibit make their way through darkened galleries, admiring the gorgeous jewels in illuminated cases, while watching clips from classic films in which divas like Anna Magnani, Ingrid Bergman, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, and Liz Taylor wear Bulgari accessories — often those same objects on display in the room.
Palazzo delle Esposizione is located on Via Nazionale in Rome and the Bulgari exhibit is on display until 13 September. For more information, click here.
