Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Birth of François-Joseph Bosio

©Palais Princier - Gaétan Luci

H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, accompanied by Mr. Serge Telle, Minister of State, Mr. Patrice Cellario, Minister of Interior, Mr. Georges Marsan, Mayor of Monaco, and numerous dignitaries, presided over events to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the birth of François Joseph Bosio, the internationally renowned Monegasque sculptor. 

After pausing for a while in front of the artist's birthplace in the Rue Comte Félix Gastadi, where Mr. Thomas Fouilleron, Director of the Archives and Library of the Palace, explained the historical context of the birth of François-Joseph Bosio to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, the Prince then laid a wreath at the foot of the bust located in the Placette Bosio and listened to a reading of a poem in Monegasque by Louis Notari, dedicated to François-Joseph Bosio – a poem that was read in 1929 at the naming ceremony for this small square. 

The Sovereign Prince then had the opportunity to view the exhibition "FJB on the Rock" on the Avenue Saint Martin, which displays research on the work of François-Joseph Bosio, undertaken by 2^nd year students of the Monaco Art School-Pavillon Bosio. 

H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince then went on to the Bosio Pavilion, where the following were presented to Him:

• the commemorative stamp and coin created by the Monaco Stamp Issuing Office;
• three episodes of the Art d'Art programme on the subject of works by François-Joseph Bosio, commissioned by the Prince's Government and Sogeda;
• an original work by the artist Oliver Laric, based on the Nymph Salmacis, commissioned by the New National Museum of Monaco;
• as well as a special issue of the magazine "Connaissance des Arts," devoted to Bosio. 

It is of note that, at the same time, in Paris, H.E. Mr. Claude Cottalorda, Ambassador of Monaco to France, laid a wreath on the sculptor's grave in the Père Lachaise cemetery, on behalf of the Government of the Principality of Monaco.