BIG Emotion

Dear Readers,

There is a word that quietly weaves its way through the pages of BIG Emotion—a word that, perhaps more than any other, speaks to the true meaning of culture: friendship.

It is a word that has been overused to the point of losing much of its meaning. Yet friendship remains the force behind many of our most enduring achievements, our boldest ideas, and the places that leave a lasting imprint on history. Art, after all, has always been an act of dialogue: between artists and patrons, masters and students, institutions and communities, creators and audiences. It is along this thread that we invite you into this new issue. One of its first destinations is the Island of San Giacomo, where the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation is envisioning a new home for contemporary art—a place where creativity, conversation, and discovery come together.

Just across the water, another island has been telling a similarly inspiring story for more than seventy years. The Giorgio Cini Foundation has restored San Giorgio Maggiore to the life of Venice, transforming it into an internationally renowned center for scholarship and cultural exchange. It stands as a powerful reminder that culture finds its fullest expression when it is shared. The same conviction animates two remarkable organizations featured in these pages: the Friends of Brera and the Friends of the Mangini Bonomi Museum Association. In both cases, the word Friends is far more than part of a name. It expresses a commitment—a conscious choice to support the arts and to help safeguard the cultural legacy entrusted to us.

Yet friendship begins not with institutions, but with people. Throughout this issue, we encounter individuals whose vision has shaped the artistic and cultural landscape of our time. Among them is Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose life reminds us that no great work of art is ever created in isolation. Every artistic season is nourished by mentors, encounters, friendships, and shared aspirations. I also think of Mario Lavezzi, whom I am fortunate to count not only among the great figures of Italian music but among my dearest friends. Friendships like his have taught me that the true measure of any journey lies not only in the milestones we reach, but in the people with whom we choose to travel.

This is the invisible thread that binds together every story in this issue. Exhibitions, foundations, museums, artists, collectors, musicians—each finds its deepest meaning when it becomes an opportunity for human connection. For art does more than create beauty: it inspires trust, encourages dialogue, and gives rise to relationships that endure.

My hope is that when you reach the final page, you will leave with more than the memory of a compelling read. I hope you will carry with you a renewed desire to cultivate the friendships that keep culture vibrant, generous, and open to the future.

Dear Readers,

this is the first issue of 2026. Every beginning carries with it a quiet promise: that of time setting itself in motion again, but also of time asking to be listened to – not merely measured, not merely organized, but understood. It is in this spirit that I open the year and these pages, aware that in the world of art, time is never a simple succession of days.

Time is matter. It is trace. It is waiting.

As you turn these pages, it quickly becomes clear that the thread running through this issue is not thematic in the strict sense, but conceptual. We find it, for instance, in the patient construction of a stamp collection: small objects born to travel, to mark a passage, to certify a distance. Each stamp is a fragment of time that has fulfilled its function and, for that very reason, endures. From tool it becomes testimony; from everyday gesture it turns into memory.

We find it also in music, where time is rhythm, breath, relationship. Particularly in jazz – such as that played at the Blue Note in Milan. Jazz time is lived time, shared time, among musicians and with the audience. It does not merely mark beats; it interprets. And in this balance between memory and invention, we encounter the same tension that runs through art and collecting alike: the ability to remain in the present without severing the bond with what has been.

The same happens in the corridors of Modenantiquaria, where time seems to slow down, almost to a standstill. Here, it is not the new that imposes itself, but the enduring. Works move through eras without losing their ability to speak to us. Walking among these presences means accepting that the past is never truly behind us.

In this first issue of the year, I felt the need to reaffirm a conviction that guides our editorial work: art neither anticipates time nor chases it. It safeguards it. Thus 2026 opens – not as a rush forward, but as an invitation to look more closely. To pause. To read the signs. This is where we begin again.

I wish you a 2026 rich in art and in time.

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to present the twelfth issue of BIG Emotion. The number “12” symbolizes harmony, completion, and creativity, values that also reflect the mission of the Italian Naval League, to which we dedicate an exclusive interview with its president, Admiral Donato Marzano. We will also report on the special event “The Vespucci, Commanders and Destinies”, which paid tribute to two emblematic figures of navigation: the legendary Agostino Straulino and the unforgettable Francesco Carlo Bottoni. Straulino, a renowned hero of the sea, left his mark on the history of Italian sailing; Bottoni is remembered for his leadership aboard the Vespucci, inspired by maritime values, a passion for maritime culture, and profound humanity.

Just as the Vespucci sailed the oceans representing Italian excellence, so the Farnesina Collection, housed at the italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome, navigates the seas of cultural diplomacy. In a dedicated article, we explain how this extraordinary artistic heritage transforms the ministry’s halls into a living gallery, where art becomes a tool for dialogue and a silent ambassador for our country.

Another in-depth study focuses on the same evocative power: the magnificent Capodimonte tapestries, which narrate the Battle of Pavia in 1525. In them, war becomes a stormy sea, a whirlwind of men, horses, and weapons that, thanks to the skill of the loom, transforms into visual order and shared memory. In the detail presented on the cover, art demonstrates its transformative power: from the chaos of conflict, a web of threads and destinies is born, finding balance in beauty.

And that’s not all. This issue 12 will offer you much more news and insights on art and culture, to browse lightly or savor attentively, like a journey that leaves room for both emotion and reflection. All the narratives within these pages are pieces of a mosaic, metaphors for a single journey: that of Italy, capable of transforming history, memory, and tradition into universal messages, capable of moving between destiny and freedom, between roots and future, always carrying with it the wind of a new beginning.

Fair winds

Dear Readers,

it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this new issue of BIG Emotion. This time, I do so with my gaze sweeping across one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the world: Lake Maggiore, also known as Verbano.

Water has always held a deep fascination for the human soul. It is a source of life, an element of transformation, and a mirror of the sky. Within its transparency, landscapes, stories, and dreams are reflected, and it is precisely this evocative power that inspires our journey through art and culture.

The shores of this extraordinary lake, with their delicate balance between nature and human intervention, have inspired artists, writers, and architects for centuries. It is no coincidence that the Amalago Literary Prize was born here, and we are excited to bring you the latest updates on it.

Rising from the waters of Verbano are the Borromean Islands, true gems set within the lake—a sublime fusion of landscape and creativity. In this issue, a dedicated article unveils the magnificence of these enchanting places, where grand palaces rich in history and gardens suspended between land and water transport visitors to a world beyond time.

Likewise, contemporary art engages in dialogue with the territory through Ugo Nespolo’s exhibition at Villa Giulia in Verbania, where color and form interact with the shimmering reflections of the lake.

Water, then, is not just a natural element but also a powerful creative force. It can shape stone, inspire paintings and poetry, and suggest new artistic visions. This is evident in the baroque halls of Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, where history intertwines with architectural beauty, or in the scientific marvels housed at the Galileo Museum in Florence, reminding us how water has been central to human exploration and discovery.

Our magazine continues to explore the many facets of art and culture, shedding light on stories and masterpieces that deserve to be told.

I wish you an enjoyable read.

Dear Readers,

It is with great enthusiasm that we unveil the first issue of BIG EMOTION for 2025, a special edition that captivates from the very cover: the spotlight is on a timeless masterpiece, Kandinsky’s extraordinary “Composition” (1916), lovingly preserved at the Museo del Novecento in Milan. We dedicate significant attention to this remarkable institution through an exclusive interview with its director, Gianfranco Maraniello, a visionary who perceives art as a dynamic and ever-evolving force.

The narrative of this edition is a vibrant and multifaceted journey, filled with illuminating encounters and discoveries that celebrate the artistic heritage with an energy designed to captivate and inspire. From prestigious events like Modenantiquaria, guiding us through evocative artistic pathways across Italy, to itineraries leading us to the heart of cities such as Modena, Ferrara, Brescia, and Milan, not to mention the enchanting atmosphere of Lake Maggiore. Every destination, every story, is accompanied by stunning visuals, because for us, art is not only about words but also about vision.

We also transcend the present: throughout these pages, we travel through time and space. Thanks to the exhibition curated by Francesca Dini and Davide Dotti, we return to the magical Paris of the 19th century, while the futuristic lines of Ferrari celebrate the perfect union of art and technology—a synergy that propels art toward new horizons.

The protagonists of this issue are the men and women who dedicate their lives to art. Not only the artists but also museum professionals, restorers, curators, collectors, and gallery owners—figures who play an essential role in ensuring that our heritage not only survives but continues to thrive and inspire. To them, we extend our deepest gratitude for their often quiet but invaluable work.

With this spirit of gratitude and shared passion, we wish you a 2025 filled with art, beauty, and joy. May these pages be an invitation to explore, reflect, and let yourself be moved by the extraordinary universe we call art.

Dear readers,

Once again it is emotions that build and guide our art and culture magazine. 

Beauty heals us, helps us to live and makes us grow spiritually. 

And it is with a vault of extraordinary beauty that we begin this issue: the Poldi Pezzoli House Museum opens its doors to reveal the wonders of its treasures. 

Not to be missed are the works exhibited at the Castello di Novara by the METS cultural association and the exhibition at the Museo di Como dedicated to the painter and great collector Geo Poletti.

A special attraction are the collectibles that tell us the history of the world, like the wonders in a cabinet of curiosities. This time we focus on telescopes from the rare Boldrocchi collection and the exhibition The City of the Sun, sponsored by the Galileo Museum in Rome’s Palazzo Barberini. 

In the profiles dedicated to our clients, we present the historic Argenteria Dabbene of Milan, founded in 1939, and the Colasanti auction house in Rome.

We will then devote considerable space to one of Italy’s oldest and most historic antiquarian booksellers, founded in 1875, and an auction house, Libreria Gonnelli in Florence.

Books are for us an important tool for the promotion of culture, a task that we also carry out through the Amalago Association, of which I have the pleasure of being the founder and president. Now in its third edition, the Amalago Literary Prize, reserved for the historical novel and conceived by Sibylle von der Schulenburg, continues its path of excellence with Giovanni Grasso, spokesman for President Mattarella, at the head of the technical committee.

With this combination of art and history, we will present a picture of who we are today, of how great civilizations have distinguished themselves not only through economics and wars, but also through art, a luxury until a few centuries ago and now present in the everyday life of each of us. From the civilizations that made the history of the peninsula, such as the Etruscans, who are remembered with the magnificent Buccheri, preserved by the Rovati Foundation, to the modern design productions of Carrozzeria Zagato, the pride of Italian luxury automobiles.

This, then, is the red thread that, like a path of aesthetics, connects all the characters, events and stories that we are proud to present to you in this new issue of BIG EMOTION.

Editorial by Massimo Ciaccio:
“I would like to dedicate the sixth issue of BIG Emotion to the XXXVI edition of Modenantiquaria and the artistic realities of the wonderful city in which it is being held.
You will find interviews with Martina Bagnoli, Director of the Estensi Galleries, Edvige Rangoni Machiavelli, President of the Friends of the Estensi Galleries, and General Davide Scalabrin, Commandant of the Modena Military Academy.
I will then introduce the BIG clients present at Modenantiquaria, 40 excellent gallerists and their best proposals for the most important annual antique art fair. BIG has been a partner of the event for many years and organizes its Gala Evening.
Much space is also devoted to the collection of the Cavalier Luigi Cremonini, who, thanks to his instinct and sensitivity, has created a very important collection, a mirror of an intimate and great passion, ranging from furniture to antique paintings, confirming the Cavalier’s genuine inclination towards the magical world of art.
As far as cars are concerned, there are two interesting reports on the work of Filippo Di Mario, photographer and close friend of Michael Schumacher, and on the Panini house museum, one of the most important Maserati collectors for generations.
Finally, an article dedicated to the exhibition The Seduction of Beauty at the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, and another on the recently opened contemporary art gallery in Ornavasso, the WEM Gallery, and its inaugural exhibition by Daniele Sigalot.
I hope you enjoy reading these pages.”

Editorial by Massimo Ciaccio:
“In this new issue of BIG Emotion, with which we have already reached the fifth, I have the pleasure of presenting you with an interview dedicated to a great figure of Milanese culture, and dear friend Domenico Piraina, the director of Palazzo Reale, to celebrate his 30-year career.
This year BIG Broker Insurance Group is proud to be a sponsor of the prestigious Ferrari exhibition organised by Auto e Moto d’Epoca in Padua in collaboration with the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena.
We also anticipate the great exhibition curated by Davide Dotti, to be held in 2023 at Palazzo Martinengo, Lotto, Romanino, Moretto and Ceruti, The Champions of Painting between Brescia and Bergamo on the occasion of Bergamo Brescia Italian Capitals of Culture.
BIG also supports the birth of the new Eataly Art House – E.ART.H pole, a foundation dedicated to art and an unusual space for the discovery of the visual arts that will be located at the historic Specialised Refrigeration Station in Verona, which will have a dual cultural and commercial soul and the objective of promoting visual arts among the general public.
Finally, among the various interesting articles, I would like to mention the one dedicated to the AMART fair in Milan, organised by the Associazione Antiquari Milanesi and their president Michele Subert.
So as always, I hope that reading these pages will be a great emotion for you.”

Editorial by Massimo Ciaccio:
“In 2022, two important exhibitions will be dedicated to the work of my brother Roberto, a great artist who died before his time in 2014: the first opened on 9 June at the MUSEC in Lugano, the second will be held in the autumn at the BUILDING gallery in Milan. I decided to dedicate the cover and central features of the magazine to him, centred on the two exhibitions, in order to make his cultured, philosophical and abstract art, centred on the search for the origin of origin, known and appreciated.
In addition, as usual, the opening feature is dedicated to our insurance products, with a focus on the coverage BIG offers museums.
We also present a preview of the major exhibition to be held in autumn at the Castello Visconteo Sforzesco in Novara, organised by METS Percorsi d’Arte, Milano romantica e scapigliata, supported as always by BIG. I am then proud to introduce you to our antiquarian clients who will be exhibiting their works at the Florence Biennale, a very important exhibition now in its 32nd edition, together with an interview with Bruno Botticelli, president of the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia, which organises the event.
Finally, as president of the Amalago Association, I supported Sibyl von der Schulenburg’s conception of the Amalago Literary Prize dedicated to the historical novel, won in its first edition by Matteo Strukul with The Seven Dynasties.
It is my pleasure to present you No. 4 of Big Emotion, and as always, I wish you great emotion as you turn these pages.”

As usual, the opening section is dedicated to our insurance products: in this issue we expose the role of the Broker and the services of BIG for companies.
The cover is dedicated to the beautiful work of Tiziano preserved at the Capodimonte Museum, of which we present a part of the rich collection, the Farnese collection, inspired by the loan we secured of this painting to the exhibition Titian and the glorification of Women of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Great space was reserved for the great exhibition organized by Mets Percorsi d’arte Il mito di Venezia da Hayez alla Biennale at Castello Visconteo Sforzesco in Novara.
Moreover, as usual, we present another important museum of modern and contemporary art the MA*GA of Gallarate, and their collaboration with the Ottavio Foundation and Rosita Missoni.
We will discover the incredible collection of Corrado Lopresto’s cars, characterized by the uniqueness of the set of prototype vehicles, rigorously restored but at the same time revolutionary.
We are also proud to present the profiles of two extraordinary realities, a reference point respectively in the fields of modern and contemporary art and design, Lia Rumma and Rossana Orlandi, who for years have relied on the professionalism and expertise of BIG for the insurance of their works.
Finally, Massimo Ciaccio, as spokesman of Amalago Association of which he is president, will point out a new literary prize of original conception, particularly interesting and innovative, conceived by Sibyl von den Schulenburg.

In this issue we present the BIG insurance product dedicated to the house, the most complete of guarantees in order to protect the goods you care the most.
The cover is dedicated to the sculpture of Wildt Vir Temporis Acti, part of the art collection of Franco Maria Ricci, recently deceased, of which we present the Labyrinth of the Masone in Fontanellato founded by him.
We also reserved a showcase to MIA Fair, the most important photography fair in Italy, now at the remarkable milestone of the tenth edition. Merit of this success goes to the founder Fabio Castelli and his daughter Lorenza who for years, with great passion and competence, organize an event that attracts more and more exhibitors and visitors.
We will then introduce you to the incredible reality of Ruote da Sogno, our exceptional customers: in the heart of the Italian Motor Valley you can admire a selection of 600 bikes from every era and brand, as well as a major selection of over 150 cars, inside the large showroom of over 8,000 square meters.
As is our usual custom, we have presented a number of profiles of our clients, including distinguished art dealers and auction houses, along with the great exhibition the great exhibition of the 20th century Italian Jewelry the twentieth century, with the memory of the curator Melissa Gabardi.
On a final note, we proudly present two foundations, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, with an interview with Veronica Berti Bocelli by the master of light Marco Nereo Rotelli (to whom we have dedicated a service), and the Paletti Ricci Foundation, created by the entrepreneur Sestilio Paletti.

The issue opens by showcasing an innovative development in the insurance sector, that is to say, our exclusive agreement with the world’s insurance leader, Lloyd’s of London, for those owners of luxury cars and Supercars.
As far as the art sector is concerned, we wanted to include the distinguished collections of Luciano Lanfranchi, which feature works of art from the twentieth century as well as a wide array of examples of African art.
In this issue we have also dedicated a showcase to the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, which has been active in the promotion and creation of contemporary artistic talents for 26 years.
As is our usual custom, we have presented a number of profiles of our clients, including distinguished art merchants and auction houses, and in this issue we pay particular attention to restaurants with an appetite for art, such as the exclusive La Bullona in Milan, located right in the heart of the city.
And on a final note, an interview with Massimo Ciaccio who is truly honoured to have become an Ambassador of the Fondazione IEO Monzino, the Foundation of which Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is President.

In this issue the Cerruti Collection of Rivoli has been given a special place, as we have dedicated the cover to it. The Collection, which has been open to the public since May 2019, has a huge number of highly selected works of art, paintings, sculptures, antique furniture, rugs, decorative art bindings, incunabula from between the 14th and 20th century and which I highly recommend to visit in person.

Issue 0 is also dedicated to Lake Maggiore, a place of great natural beauty and steeped in history, which was a “meeting point for the illustrious and distinguished over the centuries” and saw royal familly members, artists and writers on its shores: a place to discover even for the modern-day tourist.