Buona sera, say the men from Bologna to Mary Harney, the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as she walks in. They are here also from Firenze, Milano, Roma and Napoli. There are many, many Italians assembled to celebrate the opening of an exhibition of Baroque masterpieces from 17th century Italy in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Ciao ragazzi (hi, guys!), the Tanaiste says flirtatiously back to them with perfect enunciation . . . well, she doesn't really but the sentiment is in the air as we crowd in to the gallery, creating a warm, Mediterranean atmosphere. This is the first time part of the Baroque collection has been seen outside Italy. The exhibition comprises 29 paintings, all on loan from the Rolo Banca 1473 in Bologna.
And a tall Alessandro Profumo, the chief executive of UniCredito Italiano (whose Irish arm is exhibition sponsor), is here from Milan to witness the opening. "He is the big fish," says Anna Benassi, a financial analyst from the same city, adding: "I am a small fish in a big ocean." Also here is Cesare Farsetti, director general of Rolo Banca 1473.
Another big fish is Sir Denis Mahon, the art historian who has donated eight paintings from his 17th-century collection to the gallery. "I made my collection mostly when they were much despised, over about 30 years. I was very fortunate," he says. His first painting, he recalls, was by Giovan Francesco Barbieri, who is known as Guercino (the little squinter), which he bought in 1934 for £120. Today that painting, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Jacob, now the property of the National Gallery of Ireland, is worth £2 million.
It is the Twelfth, and all the British painters have been moved out to make room for the Italian collection, but the Tanaiste, who opens the exhibition, hopes this won't be misinterpreted. Carmel Naughton, chairwoman of the National Gallery, promises that in June 2001 there will be a new state-of-the-art exhibition-centre and such a relocation will never have to happen again.
Sergio Benedetti, head curator at the gallery, who went to Bologna to choose the paintings for the show, is singled out for praise and thanks by everyone. What was he looking for when he chose the 29 masterpieces from the collection of 150 works? "For quality - it's the only thing," he says.