A visitor poses in front of a replica of Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci at Art, Culture and Daily Life in Renaissance Italy, an exhibition at the Capital Musuem in Beijing through June 22. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Beijing is hosting an exhibition of rare Italian Renaissance art, where most of the works have never been seen outside of the country, let alone Asia.

An array of rare artifacts that once lay neglected in the storerooms of Italian museums, were finally given the chance to say "ciao" to the world at their global debut at the Capital Museum in Beijing last week.

These "sleeping beauties" were unveiled to the public on March 27 at the exhibition, Art, Culture and Daily Life in Renaissance Italy, which features 102 artworks and artifacts from 17 Italian institutions, including the Uffizi Gallery and Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.

Ushering viewers back to the world of Renaissance art from the 14th to the 16th centuries, the pieces combine to form a fresh perspective on an era that is widely regarded as the cultural peak of world art.

According to Manuel Roberto Guido, directorate general of museums at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism of Italy, the exhibition is a key achievement under the framework of the Sino-Italian agreement on cultural heritage cooperation that began in 2010, and is a major move toward improving Chinese people's recognition of Italian culture.

Since 2015, the ministry has operated their Sleeping Beauty program, which has established a database including lesser-known but important collections from all over Italy. More than 3,000 artifacts from 250 museums within a broad time spectrum－from ancient Rome to the modern era－have been registered with the program.