In the sacristy of the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Grumello de ‘Zanchi, a hamlet of Zogno, in the province of Bergamo, you can admire a unique fresco of its kind, namely the Allegory of Virtues, better known as The Virtues in a balloon, work of the painter Vincenzo Angelo Orelli (born in Locarno in 1751 and died in Bergamo in 1813), an exponent of the Lombard Baroque inspired by Giambattista Tiepolo. It is interesting to note that the painter was clearly inspired by the flight of Paolo Andreani, carried out in the villa of Moncucco, in Brugherio, on March 13, 1784, probably interpreting the drawings of the Gerli brothers, published in 1785.
The idea of analyzing the fresco more thoroughly, the reasons that inspired its creation and the connections with Count Andreani’s balloon, stimulated some members of the Philatelic-Numismatic Circle “M. Bella “by Brugherio to deepen the subject and the idea was born of an exhibition entitled The post, the hot air balloons, the aeronaut and the fresco of the virtues in a hot air balloon, which will take place in Brugherio, in the period 1 – October 10, 2022, at the Galleria Esposizioni – Palazzo Ghirlanda Silva – via Italia 27.
The exhibition program includes:
- Saturday 1 October 4.00 pm: Inauguration of the exhibition, conference on the fresco of the Orelli and on the figure of Count Andreani, followed by refreshments;
- Saturday 8 October 09.00: special branch of the Italian Post Office and use of the special cancellation.
For further information: