This book represents the culmination of years of hard work and intense passion. It celebrates the love of beauty as it is manifested in the art collection introduced in the volume. The works catalogued encompass around one fifth of Alanas entire Italian Old Master collection. It is the product of work and research, of numerous visits to different countries and cities in order to see the original works of art, visit art fairs, and seek the advice of a variety of specialists. The collection covers the period that goes from Italian Gothic to Italian High Renaissance art. Alanas aim has always been to build a collection that considers not only the great masters, but also those who followed in their footsteps and added their personal contributions alongside the achievements of the major figures. Alanas ambition has been to chart the history and evolution of the different Italian schools, the ways in which they inspired one another, and ultimately created so many distinctively beautiful works of art. In order to do this, this collection has been conceived as a living one, which continues to improve, evolve and welcome new works. A private and artistic history of each master is given, as well as rich visual reproductions, basic information, and a thorough technical explanation of both the most important masterpieces (those in color) and the ones that are relevant to the style or period (those in black and white). The volume concludes with a table noting the names and locations of the works mentioned in the book, as well as an extensive bibliography.

English summary: A collection of articles on the artistic evolution in painting between the gothic Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Italian text. Italian description: Elenco delle opere: / List of the works: Maestro del Crocifisso Corsi, Crocifisso dipinto - Maestro di Tobia, Madonna col Bambino in trono fra angeli e Santi ; Adorazione dei Magi ; Crocifissione - Niccolò di Tommaso, Madonna col Bambino in trono fra i santi Antonio Abate e Francesco con quattro angeli - Andrea Bonaiuti, Santo vescovo ; San Bartolomeo - Andrea di Deolao de' Bruni, Madonna col Bambino in trono - Biagio di Goro Ghezzi, Santa Caterina d'Alessandria ; San Lorenzo - Giovanni da Bologna, Decollazione di San Paolo - Roberto di Oderisio, Cristo morto sorretto dalla Madonna tra San Giovanni e la Maddalena dolenti - Giovanni di Tano Fei, San Giacomo Maggiore e San Giovanni Battista ; Sant'Andrea e Sant'Antonio Abate - Maestro di San Jacopo a Mucciana, Sposalizio mistico di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria e Santi - Scolaio di Giovanni, Adorazione dei Pastori - Giovanni di Marco, detto Giovanni dal Ponte, Madonna col Bambino in trono incoronata da due angeli e i santi Antonio Abate e Giacomo Maggiore - Andrea di Giusto, Madonna col Bambino e due angeli - Giovanni da Gaeta, Madonna col Bambino allattante tra San Giovanni battista e Sant'Antonio da Padova ; San Michele arcangelo e San Pietro martire ; Arcangelo Gabriele annunciante, San Girolamo e San Sebastiano ; Vergine annunciata - Francesco di Giovanni di Domenico, detto Francesco Botticini, Madonna col Bambino in trono fra i santi Jacopo e Giovanni Evangelista - Bernardino Fungai, Madonna col Bambino in un paesaggio - Arcangelo di Jacopo del Sellaio, Annunciazione A cura di: / Edited by: Gabriele Caioni con la collaborazione di / in collaboration with: Flavio Gianassi Testi critici di: / Critical texts by: Andrea De Marchi, Gaudenz Freuler, Cristina Guarnieri, Alberto Lenza, Tova R. Ossad, Nicoletta Pons, Angelo Tartuferi Testi in italiano e in inglese / Italian and English text