Contemporary Art Show Opens at Chianti Castle Winery

Castello di Albola, a winery in the Chianti region owned by Gruppo Zonin1821 since 1979, has launched a contemporary art exhibition titled 'Dialoghi paralleli' featuring two Tuscan artists: Fabio Calvetti (born Certaldo, 1956) and Armando Xhomo (born Tirana, 1965, lives in Florence). The show is installed in the castle's cellars among large barrels and barriques, which are visited annually by 25,000 enthusiasts, tourists, and wine lovers. The exhibition runs until the end of December. Alessandro Gallo, director and oenologist of the estate, initiated the project after a client introduced him to Xhomo, who is a close friend of Calvetti. Gallo, an art enthusiast, decided to organize this first painting exhibition with the intention of making it a recurring event. Xhomo's works feature dense brushstrokes of primary colors, exploring figures of women, men, and bulls, evoking European art history without direct quotation. Calvetti's style is more polished and pop, depicting idealized female faces in solitude against advertising-like backgrounds with barcodes, and bodies juxtaposed with objects, buildings, and geometric motifs; one piece pays homage to Jeff Koons's Balloon Dog. The exhibition aims to enrich the visitor experience at the historic winery, reflecting a growing trend of combining art and wine in Tuscany.