Art of the Popes: masterpieces from Perugino to Barocci on display at Castel Sant'Angelo

From March 6 to August 31, 2025, Castel Sant’Angelo opens its doors to The Art of the Popes. From Perugino to Barocci, an exhibition dedicated to Italian sacred painting. Conceived by the European Center for Tourism and Culture, chaired by Giuseppe Lepore, the exhibition is organized in collaboration with Castel Sant’Angelo, under the direction of Massimo Osanna, and enjoys the patronage of the Dicastery for Evangelization Jubilee 2025, headed byArchbishop Rino Fisichella. The curatorship is entrusted to Arnaldo Colasanti, with the collaboration of Annamaria Bava, in a project that aspires to transform the visit into an experience of contemplation and reflection. The event is part of the official Jubilee program, offering a journey among masterpieces that combine art and spirituality, between dream and inner quest.

It is an experience that takes the visitor on a journey between beauty and faith. The exhibition recounts, through painting, Rome ’s desire to be a holy city, guardian of an artistic heritage built up over the centuries thanks to the efforts of the Popes. Art thus becomes the language through which the city expresses its memory, its tradition and its universal ideal of beauty and redemption. The exhibition develops around essential themes such as childhood, motherhood, joy and suffering, resurrection and hope. The selection does not follow a chronological order, but is organized by thematic suggestion, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a fluid and engaging narrative.

The itinerary, in particular, presents 38 works divided into eight sections: Spiritual Childhood; The Face of the Virgin Mary; The School of Forgiveness; Visions of the Beloved in Love; Women of the Christian Heart; Sorrow, Poverty and Hope; The Wisdom of the Saints; and The Art of the Popes.

Among the masterpieces on display is Andrea del Sarto’s Madonna and Child, St. Joseph and St. Peter Martyr, which expresses the joy of family through intense compositional harmony. Another Nativity scene emerges in Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo’sAdoration of the Child with St. Jeromeand St. Francis, a work that captures the recollection and wonder of the sacred moment. The exhibition continues withLuigi Crespi’s Adoration of the Shepherds and Carlo Maratti’sAnnunciation, two paintings that explore the sweetness and mystery of the Incarnation. Visitors can also admire works by masters such as Perugino, Annibale Carracci, Pietro da Cortona, Cavalier d’Arpino, Pompeo Batoni, Giovanni Battista Salvi known as Sassoferrato, Anton Raphael Mengs and Battistello Caracciolo. The journey culminates in the luminous visions of Federico Barocci, with his unmistakable rosy clouds, which give the sacred scenes a dreamy, mystical dimension. There is no lack of a look at contemporary art, with forays that explore the relationship between the sacred and the modern. Among the artists featured are Bruno Ceccobelli, Giuseppe Salvatori, Luigi Stoisa and Giorgio Di Giorgio, interpreters of an artistic language that renews the dialogue between spirituality and contemporaneity.

One of the strengths of the exhibition is the prestige of the institutions that have contributed valuable loans. The Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica - Palazzo Barberini and Galleria Corsini, the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, and the Musei Reali di Torino - Galleria Sabauda collaborated. Also important is the participation of the National Academy of St. Luke and the Civic Diocesan City Museum of Acquapendente. A significant aspect of the project is the focus on works preserved in museum deposits, which are often little known to the general public. Through a careful selection, the exhibition offers the opportunity to rediscover masterpieces rarely exhibited, enhancing the vastness of Italy’s artistic heritage.

“There is no recovery that is not valorization of a historical cultural imaginary that exists and yet is still to be redesigned, making it emerge from the deposits,” says Mario Turetta, Head of the Department for Cultural Activities of the MiC.

Practical information

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (last admission 6:30 p.m.).

Closed Mondays.

Tickets and fees: Full € 16.00 Reduced € 2.00 (18-25 years old)

Art of the Popes: masterpieces from Perugino to Barocci on display at Castel Sant'Angelo

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