Rome, May 20 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep appreciation for Italian painter Giampaolo Tomassetti during his official visit to Rome, spotlighting an extraordinary artistic tribute that bridges the cultures of India and Italy.

Tomassetti presented PM Modi, with a striking painting of Varanasi, an ancient and spiritually significant city also known as Kashi. Highlighting the artist's lifelong dedication to Indian heritage, PM Modi lauded Tomassetti's decades of work capturing the essence of Vedic culture and historic epics.

"A glimpse of Kashi in Rome! Giampaolo Tomassetti, an Italian painter, presented his work on Varanasi," PM Modi shared in a post on X. "His passion for Indian culture goes back over four decades. In the...