Alitalia to Sell Airport Art Collection

Alitalia is putting their multi-million-pound, prized art collection up for sale in order to help reduce crippling debts while they prepare to relaunch the carrier under new ownership. The modern collection of art includes works from Salvador Dali, Giacomo Balla, Giorgio De Chirico, Mario Ceroli, and Giacomo Manzu.

Alitalia started collecting the 200 artwork collection during their heyday of the 1950s, which is when they purchased modern art works as decorations for their VIP lounges, their DC8 fleet of planes, and boardrooms. The works are now located at their offices in Turin, Rome, Milan, New York, or just put away in storage.

While not every one of the works of art are going to be sold for high prices, art experts say that about 25% of the collection is extraordinarily valuable. During the month of June, a Severini painting sold for £15 million, which made it the most expensive Futurist piece to be auctioned.

Augusto Fantozzi, the bankruptcy commissioner of the carrier, authorized the sale and asked 4 auction houses for their consideration in evaluating the art collection. Last week, he unveiled that even though the trade unions were in protest, it was agreed on that the carrier would be sold to CAI, a consortium, in an agreement worth over £840 million.

Fantozzi said that the handover is to take place today, but the ENAC, the aviation authority in Italy, recently said that the relaunch was going to be postponed until mid-month due to loose ends being tied up.

Get more information about the airline at: www.alitalia.com