At the Pinacoteca di Brera, the exhibition “Oman and Italy: Two Millennia of Cross-Civilizational Dialogue” traces two millennia of exchanges, highlighting the depth of the relationship between the two regions, which goes far beyond mere trade.
Milan is hosting an exhibition that goes beyond a simple juxtaposition of objects: it reminds us that the history between Oman and Italy has not only unfolded from port to port, but has also been woven together through ideas, maps, manuscripts, and rituals. At the Pinacoteca di Brera, the National Museum of Oman has inaugurated “Oman and Italy: Two Millennia of Cross-Civilizational Dialogue” as part of its Oman Day program. This ambitious exhibition thoughtfully traces nearly two millennia of exchanges between the shores of the Mediterranean and those of the Indian Ocean.
A Patiently Built Cultural Diplomacy
This project is the result of a long-standing dialogue. In April 2025, Angelo Crespi, Director General of Brera, traveled to Muscat to formalize a major museum collaboration with Jamal Al Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum of Oman. The origins of this initiative reflect a commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainability of this cultural relationship, moving beyond mere institutional publicity stunts.
The choice of Brera is by no means coincidental. The Milanese institution, which encompasses an art gallery, a national library, the Palazzo Citterio, and several multimedia spaces, enjoys a reputation and autonomy well-suited to major international partnerships. The Omani museum finds there a prestigious and scholarly setting, ideal for presenting a historically accurate narrative that skillfully avoids the pitfalls of folklore.
From Ancient Trade to the Transmission of Knowledge
The exhibition begins with Classical Antiquity, a period when Oman occupied a strategic position along maritime routes and in the frankincense trade. The curators draw on the writings of historical figures such as Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Ptolemy, highlighting that the region was already shaping the mental maps of the Mediterranean world.
Fascinating archaeological artifacts bring this dialogue to life. A bronze snake figurine discovered at Saih al-Qa’a and pottery shards from the Sallut site are displayed alongside handles from Roman-era vessels, featuring similar serpentine motifs, found on the island of Masirah. These artifacts bear witness to tangible and profound exchanges, rooted in the very material of the objects themselves.
The significance of incense is highlighted by a plaque bearing an ancient South Arabian inscription, unearthed from the ancient port of Samharam. The message is crystal clear: these trade routes not only carried precious essences but also conveyed practices, values, and vast aesthetic imaginations.
Maps, Manuscripts, and the Circulation of Ideas
One of the major attractions of this retrospective lies in its intellectual dimension. The exhibition highlights precious manuscripts, travel accounts, and ancient maps, illustrating how Oman was observed and interpreted by Italian scholars and explorers, such as Angelo Legrenzi, Ludovico Marracci, Pietro della Valle, and Ludovico di Varthema.
Among these treasures, Ahmad bin Majid al-Saadi’s manuscript, *An Nuniyah al-Kubrah*, stands out as the centerpiece. Inscribed in 2025 on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, it highlights Oman’s central role in the history of maritime science. The exhibition brilliantly juxtaposes this tradition with European editions of the Quran and treatises on Islamic jurisprudence, highlighting the fluidity and reciprocity of these intellectual exchanges.
Treatises on the anatomy of the eye, legal texts printed in Zanzibar, and a Swahili translation of the Quran round out the collection. These works reaffirm a captivating historical reality: the Omani world was a thriving crossroads of scholarship, at the heart of the global dynamics of its time.
Architectural and Maritime Parallels
The exhibition design then draws an unexpected parallel between the aflaj irrigation systems and the canals introduced by the Arabs in Sicily during the Arab-Islamic period. Far from being purely formal, this comparison serves as a reminder that engineering and technology traveled with people, sometimes taking root more enduringly than the empires themselves.
The built heritage is also highlighted. The evocation of the Augustinian Order in Muscat, through the Bait al-Greiza residence and the majestic Al Mirani Fort, reveals a fascinating historical stratigraphy. Omani, Italian, and Portuguese influences are subtly interwoven here. This approach, almost archaeological in its rigor, does not shy away from the complexity of historical power dynamics; on the contrary, it observes how these currents have left indelible marks on the stone and the landscape.
Venice, Murano, and Contemporary Echoes
The common thread linking Oman and Italy inevitably runs through Venice. Marco Polo’s accounts of Omani ports, Venetian coins unearthed at A’Seeb and Al Wafi, and the delicate 16th-century copper engravings preserved in Sultan Qaboos’s collection trace a geography of enduring elegance. An Omani glass vase, crafted in Murano in 1994, vividly demonstrates that this centuries-old dialogue continues to inspire contemporary design and craftsmanship.
The exhibition’s scope finally expands to the Horn of Africa, and more specifically Mogadishu, where Omani influence eventually intersected with Italian architectural modernization. An architectural fragment on display in Milan lends this final section a meditative tone, exploring traces, memory, and the hybridization of styles.
Ultimately, what the Pinacoteca di Brera offers is much more than a simple celebration of heritage: it is a remarkable exercise in cultural perspective. The exhibition’s strength lies in its ability to transform the history of design, trade, and ideas into an eminently modern framework for interpretation.