Foreign Affairs Club Lively Atmosphere and Crowd of Guests at the Opening of the Exhibition “Rome. I Live for Beauty” Featuring Works by New York Artist Claudia Palmira

A crowd of guests gathered at the Circolo degli Esteri for the opening of the exhibition ROME. I Live for Beauty, a tribute to the beauty of Rome through the works of Claudia Palmira, a New York artist and designer with a deep connection to the Italian capital, where she has lived for twenty years. The exhibition was set in the stunning Sala degli Artisti overlooking the Tiber River.

By the afternoon, over 200 attendees had arrived to celebrate the selection of 14 large works from the Iconics/Poetics Series, a collection that has achieved international acclaim with exhibitions in Europe and America, including Rome, Naples, New York, and Greenwich. Guests enjoyed an elegant vin d’honneur with sparkling rosé—one of Claudia Palmira’s favorite colors, reflected in the silk blouse she wore—served at a beautiful 1970s bar in one of the club’s lounges. Among the first to arrive were Mauro Benedetti (renowned photographer and husband of Claudia Palmira), artists Alberto Di Fabio, Francesca Cesaroni, Paolo del Gallo di Roccagiovine, gallery owners Paola Quaquarelli and Tamara Borghini, screenwriter Luca Rossi, collectors Andrea Amoruso Manzari, Enrico Silj, Marco Antonio Romeo, Gianfranco Rotili, and Giampiero Ruzzetti accompanied by Federica Balestra, actress Eliana Miglio, Roberta Beta, and Mimmi Gunnarsson (Miss Europe 1996 and host of Rai’s Meteo Mondo). The crowd admired the artworks, which reinterpret the classical, Renaissance, and Baroque icons of the Eternal City through abstract and contemporary expressions. Using photography, collages, and limited-edition prints on acrylic glass, Claudia Palmira’s works bring a modern lens to traditional imagery.

Amid the lively vernissage atmosphere of champagne toasts, cheerful celebrations, and salted almonds, a prominent aristocratic presence added to the event’s charm. Attendees included Domitilla and Claudia Ruffo di Calabria (cousins of King Philippe of Belgium), Mizina Massimo, Maria Luisa Gallarati Scotti Bonaldi (owner of the Abbazia di Busco winery), Guglielmo and Vittoria Giovanelli Marconi, Gingia Aymerich di Laconi, Federico Gargallo di Castel Lentini, Maria Fernanda Stagno d’Alcontres, Sofia Patrizi Montoro, Ludovico Massimo Lancellotti, Federica Imperiali di Francavilla, Kika Serena di Lapigio, Sabina Costa, Alessandra Colonna Marchionne, Manuela Brunner Muratti, Alessandra Borga Geraldini, Claudio Marianti di Pergola, Benedetta Kojanec Carafa d’Andria, Emma Rossi Bernardi, Ignazio and Luisa Sillitti di Giulfo, and friends Marzia Tornabuoni, Camilla Carrega, and Melissa Ferrara Pignatelli.Also present were lawyer Camilla Galeota Roncagli Miceli and architects Gaetano Sersale, Enzo Pinci, Filippo Caracciolo di Brienza, and Jaime Manca di Villahermosa, all captivated by the architectural elements, statues, and mythological figures depicted in a burst of colors, blending digital innovation and modern artistic techniques in the poetic works on display.