Special Events

Dama d’Argento Award

The Dama d’Argento is the award the Friends of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum Association assigns once every two years “to Men and Women who make Milan great.”

The award goes to leading cultural and intellectual figures chosen by the Honor Committee from a list of names. The committee is formes by the board members of the Friends Association, the Mayor of Milan and the spokesman for the Arts of the City Council.

During a gala,  that is also a fundraising event for the Museum, the winners receive a silver medallion with the image of Pollaiolo’s famous painting “Portrait of a Lady” – icon of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum and of the Friends Association.

Award Winners

2008 – 5th Edition
Stéphane Lissner, Giulia Maria Mozzoni Crespi, Davide Rampello, Patricia Terzi Sartorio
2006 – 4th Edition
Mario Bellini, Cini Boeri, Pier Luigi Cerri, Vico Magistretti
2004 – 3rd Edition
Carlo Feltrinelli, Gianfranco Ferré, Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, Massimo Vitta Zelman
2002 – 2nd Edition
Diana Bracco de Silva, Pinin Brambilla Barcilon, Giovanna Cavazzoni, Andrée Ruth Shammah
2001 – 1st Edition
Riccardo Muti, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Don Gino Rigoldi, Umberto Veronesi


Déjeuner – Conférence

The Déjeuner-Conférence is the exclusive cultural luncheon that the Association hosts in particularly prestigious locations, inviting major cultural figures, art experts and critics to discuss a topic having a close connection to the event’s unique venue.

On recent occasions, Davide Rampello illustrated the fundamental role which the Triennale Art Building plays on the Milan cultural scene; Philippe Daverio discoursed brilliantly on the Baroque in Milan; Giò Marconi, Carla Pellegrini, Arnaldo Pomodoro and Gillo Dorfles talked about artists who lived and worked in Milan in the 1970s; Philippe Daverio again and Vanni Pasca offered valuable insights into the world of Italian design.
Among the protagonists of past luncheons were Indro Montanelli and Enzo Bettiza, who in 2001 dealt with the theme of conversation with a “Dialogue on Important Personalities of the 20th Century”; plus Professor Cesare Mozzarelli, author Edgarda Ferri and Professor Giorgio Rumi, who in 2000 talked about the 18th century (history, landscape, lifestyle, leisure) in one of the finest 18th century villas in the Brianza district north of Milan.

“Note di Natale”

In December 2008 an extraordinary concert at St. Mark’s Basilica in Milan became the first of a new annual program: musical season’s greetings from the Friends of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.

This year the Christmas Concert will take place in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie on Thursday, December 3, at 9 p.m., thanks once again to the generosity of the Carnelutti law firm and to Maestro Gianni Bergamo.

With the maestro conducting, the Nervianese Philharmonic Orchestra will perform  “Missa in Angustiis – Nelsonmesse” by F. J. Haydn, “Verleigh uns Frieden gnädiglich” by F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and chorales from “The Messiah” by G. F. Händel.

All of these pieces attain the utmost heights of polyphonic expression in capturing the force and beauty of Christian thought, a magnificent religious intensity.

Admission is free, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
After the concert, guests may make a donation to the Poldi Pezzoli Museum activities and/or join the Friends of the Museum Association.

Concert Program