Record numbers of Banksy aficionados visit Rome exhibition

 ROME – The exhibition War, Capitalism and Freedom, an extensive collection of Banksy’s corpus artis, has attracted a remarkable turnout of visitors, numbering 30,000 already after only one month of opening, the organising body for the event, the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro, has said.

 The exhibition, which is being held in Palazzo Cipolla, has had people lining up in Via del Corso awaiting entry and marks a record number of visitors for the museum. The vast numbers filing in to see the “enormously rich collection of masterpieces of the main international street artist” have been mostly composed of foreign tourists, reflecting the great interest of the exhibition abroad.

 In order to cope with the vast footfall, the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro, with Emmanuele F. M. Emanuele as President, decided to extend opening hours, not closing the exhibition until 9pm seven days a week, right through until the closing date on the fourth of September.

 The success of this exhibition, which contains works coming from international private collections, with original paintings, prints, sculptures and rare objects that have never before been put on show, highlights a transformation in art-tourism in Rome. Italy’s capital is no longer an attraction solely to those interested in classic art, but mainly thanks to private subjects’ initiatives, is also becoming the destination for those with more of a leaning towards the contemporary and ultra-modern art-scene.

 The non-profit exhibition that is a “comprehensive compendium of the activity of the artist known as Banksy”, in recognition of its success, has received the candidacy to the “Premio Italive 2016” as the best event of the year for organisation and public appreciation.

Fondazione Terzo Pilastro allows pictures to be taken at the exhibition.

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