Joe Helman ran two important galleries in New York (Blum Helman and later, Joe Helman Gallery). Joe has been one of the most successful art dealers of the 20th century. His stable included William Baziotes, Joseph Cornell, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Ellsworth Kelly, and Richard Serra among other notables. Together with his wife, Ursula, they have restored one of Umbria’s most magnificent buildings, Petacciolo Castle, which dates back to Carolingian times. The castle overlooks the city of Todi with spectacular vis ov the countryside. Joe and Ursula live here a good part of the year, spending the rest of the year in New York City.
Lucrezia, Giuliano and Eralda di Martino are a family passionate about photography. Lucrezia was for several years Director of the Michael Hoppen Gallery (London), and is now Consulting Director of Strategic Partnerships for the MUUS Collection in New York. Her interest for the arts was directly inherited from her parents — both art collectors. Her father Giuliano is an architect working in Italy and in London. Since a young age he has specialized in cultural and environmental assets as well as the restoration of monuments. Eralda is a Philosophy graduate with a Master’s in Criminology; she is currently working for a program of social and cultural recovery in Naples’ downgraded districts.
Richard de Tscharner is a
Swiss photographer with a long career in private banking. The Carène Foundation was created by him in 2008 to support projects having as their goals “the transmission of knowledge and the preservation of culture”. Among the recipients of its largesse has been The Todi Circle, which Carène helped get off the ground in the early years of its existence.
Giampaolo Abbondio is a renowned
gallerist and publisher from Milan who recently fell in love with the town of Todi and decided to open a second gallery here. The gallery is located on the main piazza and is one of the most magnificent exhibition spaces in Italy.
Filippo Orsini and Nicoletta Paolucci are leading cultural figures in Todi. Filippo serves as Director of the city’s Historical Archives, with deep expertise in Todi’s history and authorship of numerous publications on the Papal States, chivalric orders, proofs of nobility, family memoirs, and genealogy.
Nicoletta, an art historian, directs the Civic Museum of Todi and heads the Municipality’s Culture Department, overseeing collections in archaeology, numismatics, medieval ceramics and paintings.
Patrizia Sargeni is a prominent figure in Todi’s social and economic landscape, having held managerial roles and served on the boards of administration of key public and private institutions. She played a pivotal role in the growth of the Todi Circle through her unwavering presence, active support, and enthusiastic participation in all our activities, especially in the development of our library in Todi.
Carlo Rocchi Bilancini is a well-known personality in Todi, and often attends some of our evening events. Carlo is a photographer who specializes in a unique kind of portrait — his subjects are pictured in swimming pools with the brilliant turquoise of the water serving as a vibrant backdrop.
Matteo and Paola Boetti. Matteo is a poet, a songwriter, and a Todi art gallerist. Matteo grew up in an artistic milieu: his father was the famous conceptual artist Alighiero Boetti. Matteo’s books come about from collaborations with many of the artists he represents. Paola is an interior decorator, trained by Master Clément Van Der Kelen at the Institut Supérieur de Peinture Van Der Kelen in Brussels
The Marquise Ginevra Sanminiatelli Corsini in Bruti Liberati, known to us a little less formally as Ginevra, is a member of the Florentine princely Corsini family, which counts in the family two popes and a saint! She is a specialist in antique carpets and textiles and has consulted for Christie’s.
Beverly Pepper is, sadly, no longer with us, but deserves mention as the doyenne of the Todi Amici, and the first ‘expat’ to settle in Umbria many decades ago. Many other Americans followed her to Todi in the 70s, people like the painter Al Held and the actor Ben Gazzara. A renowned sculptor with a career that spanned four decades (big show at Marlborough New York a few years back), she split her time between the US and Todi, where she had her studio. Her works are included in permanent collections at MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the White House Sculpture Garden, and many more. In 2013, Pepper was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Bill Pepper, Beverly’s husband, who unfortunately passed away two years before his wife at 96, was also a good friend of the Todi Circle. Bill was bureau chief of Newsweek in Rome, covered the Vatican for United Press and also worked for the Rome bureau of CBS.
The growth and success of the Todi Circle would not have been possible without the invaluable support Valentina Bigi —an incredible host, organizer (and cook extraordinaire!). The warmth, the welcoming and refined atmosphere are certainly all her merit. To her goes our deepest, heartfelt thanks for everything. and
