The American Academy in Rome celebrated its fourteenth annual McKim Medal Gala at Villa Aurelia in Rome. Over five hundred guests gathered on June 6 to honor the conductor and music director Sir Antonio Pappano and the actor and film director Roberto Benigni with the McKim Medal for their exceptional contributions to the arts.
The Gala, led by Chair Maite Bulgari and Co-Chair Federica Tittarelli Cerasi, began with cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres in the Villa’s famed Lemon Garden, before guests were led into the Secret Garden for a sit-down dinner and the medal presentation. Speakers included Mary Margaret Jones, Chair of the AAR Board of Trustees, Academy President Mark Robbins, and Ms. Bulgari. The honorees were presented by the opera star Renata Scotto and the Academy Award–winning film director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino.
The Gala raised over $600,000, with proceeds benefiting the Academy’s ongoing public programming in Rome and its continued efforts to nurturing artists and scholars. The primary Corporate Patron for the evening was Moncler SpA.
Additional corporate support was provided by Bloomberg, BonelliErede, Citi, Credit Suisse, Digital Economy Ventures, Dior, Fendi, Fondazione Carla Fendi, Gagosian, Generali, Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners, Giorgio Armani, Green Arrow Capital, Grimaldi Studio Legale, Gucci, Maire Tecnimont SpA, Tiffany & Co. Italia, Tommy Hilfiger, and Valentino SpA.
Previous McKim Medal honorees include such luminaries as Renzo Piano, Cy Twombly, Umberto Eco, Franco Zeffirelli, Ennio Morricone, Miuccia Prada, Luigi Ontani, Riccardo Muti, Bernardo Bertolucci, Zaha Hadid, Carlo Petrini, Paolo Sorrentino, Patrizia Cavalli, Giorgio Moroder, Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo and Giuseppe Penone.
All slideshow photographs were taken by Gerardo Gaetani.