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On 30 March 2007, His Highness the Aga Khan and Mr. Elvio Ubaldi, Mayor of Parma, inaugurated “Splendori a Corte”, an exhibition of rare art and manuscripts from the Aga Khan Museum collections, at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma.

Splendori a CorteIn addition to the exhibition, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, in collaboration with the Teatro Regio di Parma and Parma Capitale della Musica, presented a programme of sacred music from Central Asia.

The Exhibition, which opened on 31 March 2007 and ran for two months, featured 168 items from the Aga Khan Museum collection. Over 8000 visitors toured the exhibition during its run. The music programme, which presented a panoramic view of Central Asia’s musical traditions, opened at the Teatro Regio on 30 March 2007. Four other concerts, featuring four different performing ensembles, ran from 31 March to 1 April 2007 at the Palazzo della Pilotta.

“This Exhibition of artistic masterpieces from the Islamic world underlines that the arts, particularly when they are spiritually inspired, can become a medium of discourse that transcends the barriers of our day-to-day experiences and preoccupations,” said His Highness the Aga Khan. “Many questions are currently being raised in the West about the Muslim world, with countless misconceptions and misunderstandings occurring between our contemporary societies. I hope that this exhibition will hold a special significance at a time which calls for enlightened encounters amongst faiths and cultures.”

As the Qur'an has influenced Islamic art throughout the ages, the first part of the Parma exhibition focused on Qur�ans, Qur�anic inscriptions, and on objects relating to prayer, pilgrimage and mysticism. The second part was structured around the theme of the education of Princes.

For more information, please see the press release and His Highness the Aga Khan's speech, in English and Italian, on the occasion.