Abruzzo writer and researcher Antonio Bini got a warm reception at the Danish Academy, Rome, when he presented his book The Italian Dream of Kristian Zahrtmann, documenting  the story of the Scandinavian artists colony that lived in Civita D'Antino, near Avezzano (Abruzzo),  at the end of the 19 and early 20 century.  The foreign artists in the remote mountain village were a constant presence from 1883 till 1915 when the terrible earthquake in the Marsica area put an end to the Italian Dream. The 80 Nordic artists who lived and worked in Civita D'Antino over the thirty-year period are known as the Zahrtmann School after Kristian Zahrtmann, the first Danish artist who discovered the village in 1883 and lived there for most of his life.

In his presentation, Bini expressed the hope that his book would encourage tourism to the area by reviving the memory of this Golden Age of Civita D'Antino, which, like so many small Italian towns, suffers from depopulation.

The village was very badly damaged during the earthquake, although many of its most important monuments, such as the 6 metre-high town walls, the Porta Flora gate and the Hermitage of Santa Maria del Monte, have been preserved. The appeal of this ancient village with its peaceful streets and breathtaking views over the surrounding mountains and valleys is still intact, with all the charm that so captivated the Scandinavian artists of a century ago.