“The Damascene Rose…from Syria to Turin” Days kick off in Turin

ROME, Jul.4, (ST)- With the aim of promoting the Syrian culture and shedding light on  its key role in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and based on the belief in the power of cultural diplomacy as a vital tool to enhance international dialogue and encourage cooperation, peace and development among the peoples all over the world, the days of “The Damascene Rose…from Syria to Turin” kicked off on Tuesday in the Italian city of Turin.

The four-day event is organized by the Royal Museums in Turin and the Syrian Trust for Development, as well as the “Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture”.

The days of “The Damascene Rose…from Syria to Turin”  include many cultural activities such as a photography exhibition and musical, cinematic and literary evenings.

They will build cultural bridge between Syria and Italy, introduce the Syrian heritage and shed light on associated traditional practices and crafts, which were inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2019.

The activity started with a press conference held at the Royal Museums in Turin, which has great national and international importance represented in preserving and enhancing heritage and archaeological sites for developing cultural development opportunities.

The Director of Museums, Enrica Pagilla,  member of the Board of Trustees of the Trust for Development Faris Kallas, the consultant expert at the Trust Reem Saqr, the trustee of the Royal Gardens and Architecture Dr. Stephanie Dassi, and the Secretary General of the “Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture, Alexius King took part in the conference.

The conference was followed by opening an exhibition of photographs on the Damascene rose and the practices and crafts associated with it where 500 seedlings of the rose- provided by the farmers and people in Syria- were planted in the museum’s gardens as a continuation of the historical path of the rose’s transmission from Damascus to the heart of Europe.

The activities of the first day included screening “THE OATH OF CYRIAC” documentary drama which  based on the breathtaking true story of ordinary people struggling to save the antique collections in Aleppo city in Syria.

The film has won nearly 20 international awards in international festivals. It is directed by Olivier Bourgeois and produced by the Ministry of Culture, the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and the Syrian Trust for Development.

The film talks about cooperation between members  of a small group of archaeologists and those in charge of the museum amid the escalation of the terrorist war on the city of Aleppo in 2015, to preserve the archaeological collections, which numbered about 24 thousand pieces, They spent days and nights at the museum to accomplish their humanitarian mission without electricity or water, so they worked diligently and honestly to hide the ancient statues and valuables, to keep them away from the hands of the terrorists.

The second day of the activity will include a symposium that reviews the impact of the Damascene Rose on literature and the inspiration it provided to writers in the 21st  century, and a musical evening entitled “A Poem to the Rose.”

Basma Qaddour