A wonderful and highly enjoyable two-day festival in celebration of the arts and culture took place on 2nd and 3rd of March in Genoa, Italy. The first event took place on Saturday morning, 2 March, at the grand, 'Circolo Unificato dell'Esercito di Genova', located in central Genoa. This was organised by 'Russkij Dom di A. Čechov (Piemonte)' and led by Mrs. Daria Belokrylova-Beccaria, together with Mrs. Irina Kovalyova, President of 'Lanterna di Genova', and Mrs. Larisa Smirnova, President of 'Casa Russa Arti Erzia', amongst others. In attendance were Mrs. Maria Vedrinskaya, Consul General of the Russian Federation to Genoa, and Mrs. Dina Kotelnikova-Raimondi, Ambassador of Genoa Worldwide.
The large number of members of the Russian community who attended enjoyed poetry readings by local pupils, Russian Folks Songs presented by the talented duo, Inessa Abakumova and Theodora Siberiani, and citations of Dante's classic work by Davide Beccaria, to cite only a few of the performers. An exhibition of paintings by the talented artist, Mrs. Yelena Podboronova, was also on view for the pleasure of the audience members.
The writer presented the romantic love story between Maria Pavlovna Demidoff, Princess of San Donato (1877-1955) and Prince Semyon Abamelek-Lazarev (1857-1916). The presentation was accompanied by images of Princess Maria Pavlovna and Prince Abamelek-Lazerev from private collections as well as unpublished diary entries.
The second event took place on Sunday afternoon at 'L'Anima Russa'. This event was organised by the association, 'L'Anima Russa' and 'Casa Russa di Anton Čechov (Piemonte)'. An enthusiastic crowd gathered to be entertained by an extended reading by Davide Beccaria of Dante's classic poem, a singing performance by Mrs Daria Belokrylova-Beccaria, and a presentation by Mrs. Irina Kovalyova of her latest book of poetry, 'Il Cielo di Zarigard'. The writer once more presented to a new audience the story of the romantic love story between Princess Maria Pavlovna Demidova and Prince Abamelek-Lazarev. Following the various cultural presentations, the guests were treated to a generous and delicious banquet of Russian delicacies. In the end, this was a highly successful and enjoyable inaugural, two-day festival of the arts and culture, that promises to be repeated in the years to come!
