Biella keeps a Russian treasure
Interview with Mauro Pozzati, one of the most famous iconologists and icon-collectors, from Eco di Biella of 28.10.1999

One of the most important collections in Italy is treasured in Biella. His treasurer Mauro Pozzati has set up an association to promote the knowledge of this kind of art.

D: How did you discover the passion for these beautiful works of art?
R: At the end of the '70s I had the chance to see and touch a Russian icon for the first time. I was impressed by it because it was so different from the other works of art I knew. I was fascinated by the essentiality of the image, the rhythm and certainty of its lines, the harmony of the colours. I became curious and tried to obtain the first answers.

D: What is an icon?
R: It is the translation into image of the written word, its author is a writer of images. For the Christian-orthodox believer the icon is the Gospels, and when he/she prays in front of it, it becomes the instrument of communication with what it represents.

D: Do false icons exist?
R: Unfortunately they are the majority of those we can see. All the icons produced recently are no longer "real" which means they are no longer sacred works but have been produced only for commercial purposes.