In the hall, together with cases and various ancient works, there was a faithful copy of the famous Etruscan vase called "Of François," belonging to the gallery of Florence, and a good copy in marble of the Roman group of wrestlers. Also in the same halls, in the cavities at the end under the frieze, with the inscription in Roman characters, "Italia lux alma preevit," were two great oil paintings of their Royal Majesties the King and Queen of Italy.
This monument of art was the work of Giuseppe Sommarauga, architect, of Milan, who had also the task of originating and directing all the principal decorations made and shipped from Italy.
The participation of Italy at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was authorized by a law of the Italian Parliament dated December 27, 1903. The participation was prepared by the department of agriculture, industry, and commerce, under the direct supervision of the minister, Hon. Luigi Rava. A special committee was appointed for that purpose by the King, and the Hon. Angelo Pavis, a prominent member of the Italian Parliament, was elected chairman of the committee. The Italian ambassador to the United States, the Baron Edmondo Mayor des Planches, who advised the Italian Government to let Italy appear officially at the exposition, was appointed honorary commissioner-general, and Hon. Giovanni Branchi, the Italian consul-general in New York, was appointed commissioner-general. Adolfo Appoloni, one of the members of the royal commission in Rome, was appointed special commissioner for fine arts, and Mr. Branchi chose as members of the commission Guido Pantaleoni, electrical engineer, of St. Louis, and Chev. Vittorio Zeggio, who was special delegate from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, to promote the participation of Italy to the World's Fair. Besides these members of the commission four secretaries and several assistants helped the commission in the work of arranging and distributing the different exhibits.
The appropriation of the Italian Government for the exposition was 650,000 lire ($130,000), but this appropriation was raised in progress to 800,000 lire ($170,000). A small fee of $4 per square meter was assessed to the exhibitors, but the artists and the schools had nothing to pay. No private contributions were accepted by the Government. The Government paid the cost of transporting and maintenance of exhibits, which amounted to about $30,000. The number of exhibitors was about 1,100. Many more firms would have sent their products to this exposition had they had time to arrange a fitting display. For this reason the Italian display was not a full demonstration of what Italy produces.
The largest Italian displays were in the Fine Arts, the Manufactures, and the Agriculture buildings. The paintings and the sculptures exhibited were sufficient to give an idea of the modern art in Italy. They were all quite recent, with the exception of some pictures exhibited as loan, which were painted before the Chicago Exposition. The largest and most important art societies of Italy took a great interest in the exposition, but lack of time prevented the artists from preparing special works to be exhibited. The spirit of modern Italian art was individual, all working for the development of a national art. Among the sculptures were Monteverde, Fontana, Origo, and Romanelli. Among the painters, Previati, Rizzi, Mancini, Gioli, Morbelli, Dall'Oca Bianca Laurenti, Ciardi, Fattori de Karolis, Nomellini, Gelli, etc.
In the Manufactures Building the exhibits of carved wood furniture was displayed, together with ceramics, pottery, marble, bronzes, silks, textiles, laces, embroideries, paving bricks, and many other exhibits of great importance. Among the show cases was a large and artistic one, in which was exhibited the silk factories' display.
In the Agriculture Building Italy had a large display of samples of the many kinds of wines and olive oils it produces, and there was a large display of seeds sent by the department of agriculture.
In the Mines Building a beautiful collection of marbles and sulphur showed the wealth of the under-soil resources of Italy.
The photographs, the plans, and the maps of the electrical power houses and diverting works for the production of electricity in the Electricity Building attracted many visitors.
In the Transportation Building the Rete Mediterranes, one of the railroads that operates in Italy, exhibited the electrical system used on some of its lines.