Bologna museums host exhibition pairing medieval and contemporary art

Bologna is hosting the exhibition ‘Sorella arte. San Francesco tra Medioevo e Contemporaneo’ to commemorate the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. The project is organized by the Museo Civico Medievale and the Museo d’arte Lercaro.

The exhibition is split across two locations with complementary focuses. The Museo Civico Medievale will host the show from October 17, 2026, to January 17, 2027, focusing on the historical and iconographic aspects of the Franciscan presence in Bologna. The Museo d’arte Lercaro, which hosts the exhibition from September 17, 2025, to January 17, 2026, explores contemporary relationships with Franciscan themes.

The exhibition aims to create a dialogue between the 13th and 14th centuries and modern art, rather than providing a simple historical synthesis. Featured artists include Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Ettore Spalletti, Giuseppe Penone, and Sidival Fila, whose works will be placed in conversation with medieval painted crosses and illuminated manuscripts.