Gamberini Palace promoted in new book supported by Koç Foundation

ROME - Anatolia News Agency

The book on the Gamberini Palace, which is one of Turkey’s oldest overseas agencies buildings, was promoted at an event organized in Rome. AA photo

The promotion event of the prestige book supported by the Vehbi Koç Foundation about the Turkish embassy building in Rome, the Gamberini Palace, which is one of Turkey’s oldest overseas agencies buildings, was made in Italy on June 19.

The Gamberini Palace has hosted the Turkish embassy since the period of the Ottoman Empire.

The new book includes important sections such as; “A Look at the Ottoman-Italy Relationship” by historian Sinan Kuneralp; a the passage about the history of the palace and the art work it holds by Associate Professor Ilaria Falconi, an academic in the History of Art Department of La Sapienca University; and a section including information about the mission chiefs who worked at the palace. The prestige book was created with the enterprise of Ambassador Hakkı Akil and with the support of the Vehbi Koç Foundation.
 
“This little palace deserves a book. In the two countries where I worked as ambassador before, there were not any embassy buildings. The situation is different here, we have the building, so we settled for only a book. We found out how this building was passed to the Ottomans, and investigated the art work in the building with an art historian. With the financial support of the Koç Foundation, we then created a prestige book,” Akil said during the promotion night of the book.

‘Book will not be sold

He said the copyright of the book was in the Koç Foundation and that it was not going to be sold. “The book has become a proper source for arts history research and is a suitable bookthat we can give to our foreign guests. I am planning to give the book to mayors, governors and Cabinet officers,” he said. The Chairman of the Board of Koç Holding stated that not only Koç Group but also Turkey had very important relationships with Italy. “We have had official relationships with Italy since 1960s. Therefore Italy has importance. There is nothing better than documenting a palace’s history which is also a history of the legation,” he said.