Farnesina Collection goes digital on Google Arts & Culture

The Farnesina Collection, the contemporary art collection of Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to digitize 400 of its 700 works. Launched in 1999 by then-Secretary General Ambassador Umberto Vattani and art critic Maurizio Calvesi, the collection was conceived as a soft power tool to promote Italian culture abroad. Housed in the Palazzo della Farnesina in Rome, the collection spans photography, graphic art, and other media, and has grown steadily through free loan agreements. The digitization project, initiated in 2016, makes works accessible online and via the Google Arts & Culture app (Android and iOS). It includes dedicated cards in English, thematic insights, a digital comic by illustrator Alessandro Baronciani, interactive Pocket Gallery exhibitions, and ten Street View virtual tours of the Palazzo. Three YouTubers—Federica Mutti, Gaia Lapasini, and Lucrezia Oddone—were enlisted to engage younger audiences. The collection joins over 3,000 cultural institutions from 90 countries on the platform, with 247 Italian institutions represented. Director General for Public and Cultural Diplomacy Alessandro De Pedys emphasized the fusion of art, culture, and technology, noting that the virtual tours allow the public to explore the ministry's interiors realistically, overcoming security restrictions that limit physical access.