On September 30th, at the MAXXI, the national museum of contemporary art in Rome created by architect Zaha Hadid to promote the art and architecture of the 21st century, 22 speakers gathered before a select, international audience.

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The question is bound to arise when so much of Rome's art, literature and religion was derived from Hellenic sources.

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Mr. Graves has a particular fondness for all things Italian, developed during the two years he lived in Rome after winning the 1960 Prix de Rome, a prestigious art scholarship awarded to architects, artists and musicians.

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In Rome, the most anticipated art exhibition of the year, Tiziano (Titian), has been unveiled at the Scuderie del Quirinale.

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Born in Staniewicze, Poland in 1937, Johnson immigrated to the United States via Rome in 1968 after studying art history at the University of Wroclaw.

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His most euphoric books are those on two of its great art capitals, Barcelona and Rome.

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Through ambition and patronage he made his way into Rome's thriving Counter-Reformation art scene.

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The goal, therefore, is to draw more international tourists to Italy, and attract them to parts of the country other than the "art cities, " especially Rome, Venice and Florence, which account for as many overnight stays as all of Italy's beach and mountain towns combined.

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"He was inspired by the art he saw or by the buildings he visited, by the remains of ancient Rome and he was transformed by the experience, " he said.

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