Alcide De Gasperi

Artist / Maker

Giulio Greco, Artist

Date

Creation: circa 1970s

Object Name

bas-relief (sculpture technique)

Inventory Number

C.2019.083.001

Physical Description

Terracotta tondo with a portrait of Alcide De Gasperi. There are two inscriptions: A. DE GASPERI and the signature of the artist G. Greco, Cremona.

Content Description

Terracotta tondo with a portrait of Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954). As Italian Prime and Foreign Minister after the Second World War, Alcide De Gasperi strove for a federal Europe as a means of strengthening Italy’s international status. He is credited as being one of the architects of European integration.

Keywords

Europe--Politics and government European Community

Exhibition Theme

3. Rebuilding a divided continent (1945-1970s) -> 3.3. Milestones of European integration 1 - from The Hague to the first enlargement -> 3.3.7. Architects of the European integration (on display)

Material / Technique

Terracotta

Dimensions

Height x Diameter 5,00 x 32,00 cm

Place

Place of origin: Italy

Curator’s Note

Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954) was a politician and head of the Popular Party in Italy. From 1945 to 1953, he was prime minister of eight successive Italian governments and served as foreign minister on several occasions. During that time, he strove to restore an influential role for Italy in international politics. De Gasperi is considered one of the architects or founding fathers of European integration. This diverse group of personalities came from a generation that experienced both world wars and turned the idea of European unity into reality. De Gasperi helped to organise the Council of Europe and supported the Schuman Declaration, which led to the foundation in 1951 of the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the European Union. In 1954 he was elected president of the Community’s Common Assembly, which would later become the European Parliament.

Inscription

Inscription A. De Gasperi G. Greco, Cremona

Credit line

Acquired 2019. EU, EP, House of European History, Brussels.

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