With its purchase and restoration of the Casa dei Carraresi, the Cassamarca Foundation created a highly prestigious new setting for exhibitions and shows, representing a significant addition to the Italian cultural scene. The series of Major Exhibitions, “The Silk Road and Chinese Civilisation”, strongly promoted by the President of the Foundation, On. Avv. Dino De Poli, has as its Patron, the President of the Italian Republic. In 2004, during a State visit to China by the former President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the project was officially presented by the President of the Chinese Academy of International Culture. During his presentation, he defined the partnership between the Academy and the Foundation (with the participation of Italy China Foundation) as “the most important event in Europe in the field of cultural collaboration”. On that occasion, the President of the Italy China Foundation, Cesare Romiti, confirmed to the Italian Head of State that the Major Exhibitions Project, “The Silk Road and Chinese Civilisation”, is one of the defining activities of the Foundation’s programme. The Italy China Foundation was created to promote economic and cultural relations between Italy and China by way of major projects, enhancing the excellence of exchange between the two countries. The founder members include Ministries, Regions, The Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria), and important Italian companies and financial groups.