The official birth of a unique cultural exchange started 10 years ago in 2007 when the “Piece Frame,” a sculpture by the artist Nall, was donated and dedicated to the city of Pietrasanta, Italy, as a gesture of good will between the small Italian city and the state of Alabama. Nall, the noted Alabama artist, had worked and exhibited in Pietrasanta for a number of years along with other Alabama sculptors.

The historic city of Pietrasanta, located at the base of the Italian Alps and famous Carrara marble quarries, is arguably the sculpture capital of the world. It has attracted sculptors; including the likes Michelangelo, Francesco Messina, Fernando Botero, Igor Mitoraj, Henry Moore, Juan Miro and Kan Yasuda spanning a period from the early 1500s to the present day. Pietrasanta with its numerous bronze foundries, marble studios, ceramic tile studios and galleries is clearly a center for international artist and generations of working artisans in the northern region of Tuscany.