Casale Monferrato
Sinagoga degli Argenti
from 29.10.2006 to 23.11.2006:

An exhibition of Islamic art is under way in an Italian synagogue. Called "Salam aleikum," the show opened October 29th in the historic synagogue in Casale Monferrato in northern Italy's Piedmont region. Organized by the Casale Monferrato Jewish community and the Ibn Sina Center for European Studies, the show includes works by 14 artists from Algeria, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy and elsewhere. The exhibition runs until November 23rd.

"Fourteen Italian and foreign artists, from the whole area touched by the Mediterranean Sea, tell us about their homeland and their beliefs through their work. The exhibition, by the Centro Studi Europeo Ibn Sina, is extremely versatile. It shows works that range from the art of calligraphy to ceramics decorating, from painting to sculpture. Among the participant artists, there are some well-known personalities from the show-business and from the cultural world, such as Franco Battiato, in the unusual role of painter deeply inspired by Sufism, or the mystic Gabriele Mandel Khan: writer, musician, lecturer and a prominent personality in the Italian Islamic Culture. The purpose of the exhibition is, in fact, to create a cultural-artistic event with the aim of having a cultural and religious exchange and debate. The opening will be on the 29th October and it will be open to the public, there will also be a double musical introduction with traditional music, as well as cuisine that will include all the flavours of the Mediterranean area."

Salam aleikum, may peace be with you