Discover western Georgia's Dadiani Palace treasures in new book

A newly released catalogue of historical treasures from the Dadiani Palace of western Georgian nobility brings stories of the exhibits from the 19th century estate to those with interest in cultural heritage.

Published in an initiative led by the Art Palace museum, the compilation introduces more than 200 inscriptions, over 100 religious items and hundreds of photographs about the riches found in the palace in the Samegrelo province's city of Zugdidi.

Authored by researcher Lili Beraia and edited by Art Palace director Giorgi Kalandia, the 260-page book comes in a bilingual edition in Georgian and English and features a paleographic album as well as an index of personalities and locations related to the subject.

The catalogue's publishing was supported by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia and the David Agmashenebeli University of Georgia, and is to be formally presented in Tbilisi and Zugdidi in the near future.

Items that represent the subject of the catalogue come from the Dadiani Palace, a historic residence of the final regent of the Principality of Samegrelo as the region’s autonomy was abolished by the Russian Imperial rule in 1857.

The complex includes a palace for Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani, the final acting regent of the principality, as well as a residence of her son Niko Dadiani, a monastery and an adjacent botanical garden.

Boasting the largest ballroom in nobility residences across Georgia, it has been described by the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation as a European-style palace with "unique architecture”.

During the 19th century the palace also hosted nobility from abroad including distinguished historical figures, among them pacifist and novelist Bertha von Suttner, the first Nobel Peace Prize-winning woman.

The estate, later transformed into a museum, entered a major renovation effort in 2015 and reopened recently.