An Italian Renaissance art show is due to open Sunday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, featuring classics by Renaissance masters including Michelangelo and Da Vinci.

Insiders say this will be the first exhibition of Italian Renaissance fine arts in China since the People's Republic was founded in 1949.

The show will feature 70 to 80 sculptures and paintings from the 14th to 16th centuries, including Michelangelo's David and Pieta and Da Vinci's Horse.

Reproductions of some Renaissance masterpieces by artists from around the 18th century will also be on display at the exhibition. Most of the pieces feature heroes and legendary figures of the Roman Empire and carry religious and humanistic themes.

On the sideline of the gallery will be a finery exhibition featuring over 50 pieces of luxuriant costumes and jewelry pieces worn by aristocrats in Florence city, where the Renaissance originated, in the 15th and 16th centuries.

All the exhibits are collections of Galleria Luigi Bellini, one of the three leading private collectors in Europe.

The show will be held at Nanjing Museum and will end on July 30.

(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2004)