In 1935 Achille Forti, botanist and patron of Verona, commissioned Ettore Beraldini to paint a portrait. He is painted sitting at the table of his study with a magnifying glass in his hand, almost surprised while observing a herbarium. Beraldini gives us back the image of a great scholar and extraordinary benefactor of the city: Forti decides to name the City of Verona universal heir of his considerable heritage, earmarking the family palace - Palazzo Emilei-Forti - to host a gallery dedicated to the arts and giving the community his collection of works of the 19th and early 20th century.