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Italian art takes center stage at the UAE President Cup 2025: Capannelle hosts Michi Grassi’s exhibition

At Rome’s Capannelle Racecourse, the UAE President Cup 2025 was not only a high-level international sporting event, but also a celebration of the cultural connection between Italy and the Arab world. Adding further prestige to the eighth Italian edition — the first in Rome after seven held in Milan — was the art exhibition by Master Michi Grassi, a world-renowned Italian equestrian painter, twice honored in Parliament as a national excellence for his horse-themed work.

A master of equestrian painting beloved by Arab culture

Already featured at the Longines Global Championship Tour and the Global Arabian Champions Tour, Grassi is known for his collaborations with the royal family of Qatar (his painting Rhan al Shahania is especially famous) and for being invited by ambassadors and high-ranking personalities from the Arab world. His exclusive exhibition, set up in the VIP Terrace of the Roman racecourse, was widely acclaimed by ambassadors and diplomats in attendance, including His Excellency Abdulla AlSubousi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Italy, the Deputy Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, diplomats from Kuwait, Qatar, and even the ambassador of Bolivia.

Grassi expressed a deep affinity with the artistic sensitivity and the reverence for horses that unite Arab culture and his own pictorial poetry: «I find the Arab world extremely fascinating; we share a love for horses and equestrian art. I would like to live in an Arab country. These are intelligent, serious, and reliable people».

UAE President Cup: a triumph on the track and a cultural victory off the track

From a competitive standpoint, the UAE President Cup — with a record prize of €300,000 — saw the clear victory of the Arabian thoroughbred HM Alchahine, ridden by Cristian Demuro and trained by Elisabeth Bernard, ahead of Afjan and Extra Time. But the presence of Michi Grassi, with works such as Aj Kayya (already part of the Prince of Ajman’s collection) and Rhan al Shahania owned by Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al THANI, a VIP from Qatar’s royal family, and the attention received from UAE media, added further prestige to a day that combined sport, art, and diplomacy.

This post is also available in: Italiano