Eight hundred years after the death of St Francis, Fondazione Perugia pays tribute to Italy’s patron saint with an exhibition that re-reads his spiritual and cultural legacy through the eyes of some of the most significant Italian and international artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
From 18 April to 1 November 2026, Palazzo Baldeschi in Perugia presents San Francesco – Our Contemporary: Between Art and Spirituality, curated by Costantino D’Orazio in collaboration with the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria. The exhibition creates a powerful dialogue between the Franciscan message and the works of masters including Alberto Burri, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Mimmo Paladino, Emilio Isgrò, Omar Galliani, Giuseppe Penone, Marina Abramović and Maurizio Cattelan.
St Francis, who died in 1226 and was canonised just two years later, continues to speak with remarkable relevance to the modern world: harmony with nature, rejection of material wealth for its own sake, care for the marginalised, dialogue between all creatures, and the search for an authentic existence. Rather than offering traditional hagiography, the exhibition explores these themes through the lens of contemporary art.
Highlights include Michelangelo Pistoletto’s iconic Venere degli stracci, Emilio Isgrò’s conceptual cancellations applied to the Canticle of the Creatures, Omar Galliani’s diptych In Lumine Dei, the raw materials of Alberto Burri and the installations of Jannis Kounellis. The exhibition is completed by ten graphic works by Cézanne, Picasso, Chagall, Gauguin and Giacometti from the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, alongside ancient devotional medals and reliquaries.
“With this exhibition, Fondazione Perugia reaffirms its commitment to dialogue between historical heritage and contemporary art, while celebrating the identity and history of our territory,” says Alcide Casini, President of Fondazione Perugia.
Patronised by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the National Committee for the Eighth Centenary of the Death of St Francis, the Umbria Region and the City of Perugia, the show is accompanied by a catalogue published by Fabrizio Fabbri Editore featuring contributions from Davide Rondoni, Fra Giulio Cesareo, Italo Tomassoni and others.
Far from being a mere historical tribute, this exhibition reveals St Francis as strikingly alive and profoundly relevant in our own time.
