Thanks to the initiatives promoted by the Veneto Region and the Giorgio Cini Foundation through the Regional Committee for the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the death of Rosalba Carriera (1757-2007), it was possible to render due homage to a painter who rose to be a leading artist on the European scene. This prominent role, highlighted by the exhibition – Rosalba Carriera “prima pittrice de l’Europa” – held in the Palazzo Cini in 2007, has now been emphasised again with the publication of the proceedings of the Conference held at the Giorgio Cini Foundation and in Chioggia in the spring of the same year. The papers in the book cast new light on Rosalba’s activities in the Venetian art world and on the European scene. One specific enquiry was focused on the topic of collecting Rosalba Carriera works, which was dealt with in a conference session and also fi nds a place in the proceedings. For the first time (and in Italian) the remarkable Dresden collection has been examined and illustrated with exhaustive images as never before. One gem from the Dresden museum, the Portrait of Giambattista Recanati in Abbot’s Dress, was chosen for the cover of the book: the sitter is depicted immersed in thought with a hand over his chest, an allusion to his heart. This “portrait in grey” is a forerunner of the celebrated masterpieces of the late 18th century painted in a single colour tone.