Sponsorship Case History

Calvisius Caviar, one of the most famous caviar brands in the world, is dedicating a special edition to the Winged Victory statue. The collaboration has become an effective partnership agreement between Calvisius Caviar and Fondazione Brescia Musei in the name of promoting the statue: part of the profits from the sale of this product will be allocated to the conservative maintenance of the Winged Victory. 

The limited edition silk-screened tins are being exhibited in two corners set up at the Capitolium and the Santa Giulia Museum: a QR code introduces the visitor to the special Calvisius Caviar range dedicated to the Winged Victory and to the online shop for an easy purchasing experience. The initiative originates in the context of celebrating the restoration of the ancient bronze statue that took place between 2018 and 2021 by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure of Florence. 

With the contribution of Agroittica, which has demonstrated the utmost care for the city’s heritage with this project, a monthly assessment of the statue’s state of preservation is being carried out, with the preparation of technical documentation and the recording of the preservation status. In addition, the surfaces are being dusted every six months by highly specialized personnel, and the same work is being carried out on the bronze frames, which were discovered along with the Winged Victory in 1826, which are displayed on the wall and inside the window of the hall.

Founded in 1987, the Consorzio Produttori Marmo Botticino Classico (Consortium of Botticino Classico Marble Producers) represents the major producers of the Botticino basin, and thus serving as an organization for the protection and promotion of the culture and quality of Botticino Classico Marble around the world. In the context of the global market, the micro-economy of the basin has become of national interest for the development and promotion of Made in Italy brand worldwide. From this perspective, provincial regulations and regional laws for the protection of the area were born and Botticino Classico is the object of studies and research at a number of Italian Universities.

The Consortium is the technical sponsor of the Capitolium museum project to celebrate the return of the Winged Victory to Brescia. After a long and meticulous restoration process, the Winged Victory has been officially returned to Brescia, in its new location inside the eastern cell of the Capitolium, in a museum exhibition curated by Spanish architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg. As technical sponsor, the Consortium created the new basement in Botticino Classico marble, the same material on which the Winged Victory stands at the Capitolium.

2020 saw the launch of the partnership between the Fondazione Brescia Musei and BTL Banca del Territorio Lombardo, which was then renewed for 2021, which had the aim of supporting the Foundation’s educational activities. Despite the conditions imposed by the pandemic, the educational activities did not come to a halt, either in 2021 or 2020, through a reformulation of the numerous activities carried out by the educational services of the Fondazione Brescia Musei.

The educational activities carried out by the education services of the Fondazione Brescia Musei, through a wide-ranging programme of educational offerings, include over a hundred projects to which new activities are continually being added at all the locations, including the Cinema Nuovo Eden. 

The agreement between BTL and Fondazione Brescia Musei allows, among other things, the bank’s 7,700 members to access the Brescia museum system managed by the Foundation at a reduced rate. 

“The collaboration with Fondazione Brescia Musei in support of pedagogical and educational activities,” said Matteo De Maio, General Manager of BTL Banca del Territorio Lombardo, “allows us to be present at the forefront of the city’s cultural heritage. It’s way to make a contribution, especially in this particular context, to the development of our local area’s resources. As an Educational Activity Partner, we are also particularly proud to support the rich programme of educational opportunities aimed at the school sector by the Educational Services of the Fondazione Brescia Musei.” 

“Thanks to the precious support of BTL,” says Stefano Karadjov, Director of the Fondazione Brescia Musei, “we are able to strengthen the Museum’s role as a vehicle for social cohesion, encouraging the involvement of an increasingly broader public, each with different cultural expectations.”

After the restoration in 2019, which was made possible thanks to the support of CheBanca!, Christ Meets St. Veronica was able to become part of the permanent exhibition at the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo. 

The exhibition of the painting resulted in the first permanent change to the visitor’s route of the civic gallery. In 2018 it replaced Polidoro da Lanciano’s painting of Christ and the Adulteress, which is now in the Santa Giulia Museum’s storerooms, available for loans and educational activities. 

The exhibition hall houses works produced by the major artists of the sixteenth century in Brescia, which were intended for various religious contexts: from the chapels of the city’s churches, to private oratories and those of the confraternities, up to the palaces. These themes were treated in medium-format paintings, with a deep love for reality in its most humble and everyday aspects, but without renouncing exquisite effects in the exploration of colour ranges. The naturalism of these paintings, which are somewhere between description and narration, reduces their distance from the observer, encouraging the participation of the worshipper in the sacred drama. 

From this point of view, the canvas by Cariani (which after its restoration now exhibits the full clarity of its chromatic range and the complex effects of light) fits in perfectly with the context of the room by virtue of the intense and expressive pictorial language it features. In fact, the painting depicts the legend of Veronica, who offered her own veil to Christ as he ascended Calvary to dry his face and miraculously discovered the image of Christ’s own suffering face imprinted on it. 

“The restoration of the piece,” said the President of the Fondazione Brescia Musei, Francesca Bazoli, “which was made possible thanks to the precious contribution of CheBanca!, and performed with great expertise by Luisa Marchetti, under the direction of Angelo Loda of the then Superintendency of Brescia, has brought a work of great charm back to this city. Thanks to its strong sense of drama and its distinctive tone of expression, it is a valuable addition to the city’s Picture Gallery.” 

“We have grown significantly in Brescia in recent years,” commented Lorenzo Bassani, Sales and Marketing Director of CheBanca!,  “As a company which is now firmly rooted in this area, we wanted to express our gratitude to the community of Brescia, who have always been welcoming and receptive. By supporting the restoration of Cariani’s work, we wanted to follow up on the commitment we made to the institutions on the occasion of the opening of our prestigious branch in Corso Martiri della Libertà, by making a concrete gesture for of the city which, I am sure, will be followed by others the months to come.” 

“This is yet another initiative to preserve and promote our heritage,” emphasized the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Culture, Laura Castelletti, “for which the city is grateful to CheBanca! and to those who have worked on the painting’s restoration and relocation. This is an invaluable element that fits into the visitor’s path through the museum, adding new appeal and dynamism to our Picture Gallery, which is consistently proving to be place of meetings, comparisons, new perspectives and new interpretations.”

At the end of 2021, a limited edition of the famous 2015 Freccianera Brut saw the light, one whose label (reinvented for the occasion by the studio Tassinari/Vetta, who were also responsible for the branding of the Vittoria Alata 2020 event programme) was dedicated to the Winged Victory.

The Freccianera is an award winning Franciacorta Brut It is foremost among Fratelli Berlucchi’s products and the most lavish, with a legendary status. A key player among the very best that, just like all other leaders in the area, had already merited a label created by designer Franco Maria Ricci, the creator of that union between black and gold that made the history of this wine much loved by the international community, while remaining closing tied to the region of Brescia where it is produced.

These are qualities that the brut shares with the statue of Winged Victory, so the combination of values and symbols came practically by itself.

The Foundation has therefore agreed to – and coordinated – the creation of a Vittoria Alata Limited Edition label, from the sale of which it will receive a substantial part of the proceeds directly from the Fratelli Berlucchi company, which will partially cover the costs incurred for the publications that are still to be released as part of the Vittoria Alata 2020 event programme.

Thanks to the generous and invaluable donation of Metal Work S.p.A. aimed at supporting and promoting the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, the great canvases The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple  and The Banquet of Balthazar, two masterpieces by Giuseppe Tortelli, which are part of the civic collection and are permanently on display on the visitor’s route through the renovated Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, were able to receive the necessary restoration operations that have now brought them back to their original splendour.

The initiative is part of the wider project of corporate relationships launched by the Fondazione Brescia Musei and, within this context, Metal Work’s donation is a major contribution and a very positive and concrete sign of support for the museum’s heritage and the city in general.

For the restoration of the two Tortelli canvases, which was overseen by Studio Marchetti e Fontanini in Brescia, the Fondazione Brescia Musei launched a fundraising campaign aimed at private individuals in 2018 through Art Bonus. The collection was completed thanks to the decision of the company, a world leader in industrial automation, to support the city’s Picture Gallery.

Of the total amount of about €50,000 needed for the restoration of both canvases, Metal Work donated the approximately €30,000 needed to start the restoration and to cover the cost of hiring the scaffolding. All the operations were carried out directly on site, under the eyes of the visitors who, during the three months of activity, were able to observe the restorers at work.