Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Italy During G7 Summit. (Photo Credit: Twitter/ Narendra Modi) It was a Caravaggio last year. This year it is a Botticelli. A masterpiece by Sandro Botticelli, the 15th century Renaissance painter, will be on display in New Delhi, as part of closer ties between Rome and New Delhi in the coming weeks. This is Botticelli's Madonna and Child, Mother Mary with the baby Jesus, currently on display in France. The announcement comes just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Rome for a bilateral with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Caravaggio was of course Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, painted in the early 17th century. Pre-Roman sculpture will also be displayed along with the Botticelli. Botticelli's most famous paintings are Birth of Venus and Primavera, but his work is rarely seen in India. Bringing a Botticelli to India is another sign of the growing friendship between the two countries, and not just in the area of art and culture, but also, trade and investment, industrial design, and importantly defence. Art (and the Italians have repeatedly said that the world's two cultural superpowers are India and Italy) is an ingredient of soft power. The widely accepted first example of the use of art as soft power also involved another Italian painter, though the painting is in Paris. As first lady, the Sorbonne-educated Jacqueline Kennedy persuaded French President Charles de Gaulle to send the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci to New York and Washington DC. Over a million people went to the exhibition -- the Mona Lisa is considered to be one of the world's most famous paintings. Defence is a major area of convergence with the two countries looking to jointly design new weapon systems and manufacture in India, keeping in mind the possibility of export as well. Guido Crosetto, the Italian defence minister, was in India recently. Earlier, India lifted a ban on Leonardo, the Italian defence manufacturing giant, one of the largest in the world. Earlier, Indian government officials have met senior executives of Fincantieri, the shipbuilding giant. India and Italy are working closely in areas like industrial design, space, and science and technology. India's huge pool of engineers and scientists is a draw as also, potentially, its enormous market. Trade and investment is another area that will be under discussion when the two prime ministers meet. The agreement on the FTA or Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union will make the process easier. Rome also hopes for Indian investment in Italy in certain sectors.