It started with a phone call

Many art moving projects involve a great deal of planning, hard work and precise time management. This is even more so when the project involves shipping precious art objects on behalf of Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, to the residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian.

Four 18th-century paintings by famous Italian masters such as Giovanni Antonio Canaletto and Bernardo Belotto have been on display at the presidential palace in Yerevan since September 24, 2020. The idea for this exhibition arose during a phone call between the two presidents, in which they stressed the importance of culture to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

Four extraodinary pieces

At the time of the call, no one could have foreseen the extraordinary journey the art works would be embarking on. “At Gosselin we regularly deal with fine art, and we had prepared a precise plan based on our fine art shipping criteria: safe and fast travel, simplest possible transit,” says Roberta Tanzi. “Then the corona pandemic struck, and its impact on the transport industry was very profound, with flights cancelled, traffic lanes suspended, and borders closed. The solution was to collect the paintings in Brescia, seal them in Rome, transport them by road to Luxemburg, fly them to Tbilisi and continue again by road to Yerevan! A challenging journey indeed.”

“At one point, all of the parties involved in this exhibition started to believe it was becoming a ‘mission impossible,’” Barbara Savelli adds. “But nothing is impossible when you’re dedicated to the cause. Sometimes solutions just have to be found along the way.”

About Gosselin

Gosselin is a leading provider of international moving and destination services. Our clients are  multinationals, relocation management companies, expats, diplomats, military personnel and private persons. Gosselin has 56 offices in 34 countries and has a strong presence in Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Gosselin is a division of the Gosselin Group that has its headquarters in Antwerp, Belgium. The company was founded in 1930 and employs a staff of 800 that generates more than 270 million euros in turnover.