His Highness the Aga Khan and Mr. Elvio Ubaldi, Mayor of Parma, inaugurated "Splendori a Corte", an exhibition of rare art and manuscripts from the Aga Khan Museum collections being shown at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

Mr. Elvio Ubaldi, Mayor of Parma; His Highness the Aga Khan; Mr. Meli, Sovraintendente Teatro Regio, Mrs. Lucia Fornari, Sovraintendente alle Belle Arti; and Senatore Pietro Lunardi at the inauguration of the "Splendori a Corte" exhibition at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

His Highness the Aga Khan and guests arriving at the "Splendori a Corte" exhibition at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

"Splendori a Corte”, an exhibition of rare art and manuscripts from the Aga Khan Museum collections being shown at the Palazzo della Pilotta in Parma, contains some of the rarest pieces of Muslim art, including Fatimid pottery and a copy of Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine, which was the medical reference book in Europe for 500 years. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

“Splendori a Corte”, an exhibition dedicated to the presentation of Muslim arts and culture in all their historic, cultural and geographical diversity, will run in Parma for two months and then appear in other European cities. The selection of artwork is made from the permanent collections of the Aga Khan Museum, which will open in Toronto, Canada, in 2010. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

The opening concert took place on 30 March 2007 at the Teatro Regio di Parma with all four ensembles performing for 25 minutes. Each group’s performance was introduced by a five-minute documentary film subtitled in Italian that portrayed the musicians in their home communities and provided a cultural context for their art. - Photo: Roberto Ricci

Four individual concerts are taking place at the Palazzo della Pilotta, featuring single ensembles during one-hour performances. Each performance is preceded by a twenty-minute introduction that includes a brief presentation of the musical tradition and a five-minute documentary film on the musicians. - Photo: Roberto Ricci