The Visitation in L’Aquila. Raphael and Pontormo edited by Tom Henry and Federica Zalabra

From 27 June the Municipality of L’Aquila and the National Museum of Abruzzo present “The Visitation in L’Aquila. Raphael and Pontormo”a fascinating and ambitious exhibition project that establishes itself as one of the most important and representative events of the program of L’Aquila Italian Capital of Culture 2026. The exhibition reconstructs the genesis of the altarpiece of the same name by Raphaelcommissioned by his friend and patron from L’Aquila Giovanni Battista Branconio, investigating its fortune and artistic and cultural implications.

The exhibition, supported by the Municipality of L’Aquila and curated by art historians Tom Henry e Federica ZalabraDirector of the National Museum of Abruzzo, will take place until 27 September in the sixteenth-century castle, recently returned to the city, and offers a broad and accessible route, aimed at enhancing the role of the Museum as an institution at the service of the community and memory.
This is an event with an international scope and great scientific value. The masterpiece of the master from Urbino, now kept in the Prado Museum in Madrid, will be exhibited alongside the famous “Visitation of Carmignano” by Pontormo, owned by the Diocese of Pistoia.
The exhibition was born from the need to ideally bring back to L’Aquila after almost 400 years one of the most significant chapters of the city’s artistic and patronage history, the work created by Raphael for the Branconio chapel of the church of San Silvestro. The objective is twofold: on the one hand to give the L’Aquila community the opportunity for direct comparison with Raphael’s masterpiece; on the other, to open new lines of research on Raphael’s workshop, on the circuit of relationships between artists and clients and on Branconio’s role as promoter and cultural mediator.
“With ‘The Visitation to L’Aquila. Raphael and Pontormo’ the city welcomes one of the most significant projects of the L’Aquila 2026 journey: an event that returns to the community a fundamental chapter of its artistic history and, at the same time, projects our territory into an international cultural dimension. The return, albeit temporary, of the altarpiece created by Raphael for the Branconio chapel of San Silvestro represents an extraordinary opportunity to reaffirm the profound bond between the city, the his memory and the great protagonists of the Renaissance. This exhibition confirms the ability of L’Aquila and MuNDA to build ambitious, inclusive and high scientific value cultural projects, capable of speaking to the public, scholars and new generations”, declares the mayor of L’Aquila, Pierluigi Biondi.
“At the heart of this exhibition is the meeting between two masterpieces painted a few years apart from each other, but otherwise connected by their common iconography. There is no reason to suspect that Pontormo was familiar with Raphael’s Visitation when he was preparing to design his own. They represent two divergent strands of artistic commitment between 1517 and 1530” explains the professor. Tom Henry, co-editor.

“For the contemporary museum, the exhibition event is configured as an essential, albeit extraordinary, activity. Starting from February 2024, in concert with the General Directorate of Museums of the Ministry of Culture, the MuNDA has started an important dialogue with the Prado, in the person of its director Miguel Falomir Faus, whom I thank. With the fundamental support of Monsignor Orlando Antonini, it was then possible to dialogue with the Diocese of Pistoia and took forms the exhibition The Visitation in L’Aquila. Raphael and Pontormo, born with the ambitious objective of achieving what has long been hoped for by the city community and never achieved until now: to bring back to L’Aquila, albeit temporarily, the Visitation of Raphael once kept in the Branconio chapel of the church of San Silvestro” states the director of MuNDA, Dr. Federica Zalabra, co-curator.
The exhibition is conceived by the National Museum of Abruzzo, while the Municipality of L’Aquila is its main supporter as part of the Restart 2 Program – Priority C, intervention “The cultural events of the national museum institutes of L’Aquila in 2026”, as part of the measures aimed at strengthening the cultural offer of the city on the occasion of the year of Capital of Culture.

A direct and indirect marketing campaign for the temporary exhibition was launched throughout the country, with dynamic and static billboards in the city of L’Aquila and its province and in selected cities and tourist locations in Abruzzo and the Marche; in the subways, in bus shelters and in the main streets of the historic center and road arteries of Rome.

THE THEMATIC SECTIONS

The exhibition develops within the exhibition itinerary of the sixteenth-century Castle, with the setting up of two dedicated rooms, to open a direct dialogue between the temporary event and the Museum’s collections, making the experience of the visit by the public even more engaging. The exhibition project is divided into two thematic sections:
– The Visitation of the Prado and the Visitation of Pontormo da Carmignano. One of the most important sections will be dedicated to the work Branconio, from Madrid, and to the work of Pontormo having the same iconographic theme. The Prado panel, destined for the family chapel in the church of San Silvestro in L’Aquila, which remained in its original context for over a century, before the transfer to Spain, indicated the direction for many works of Raphael’s last period and appears fundamental for understanding the work of his workshop, in which artists of the highest rank worked. The iconographic and stylistic novelties of the Visitation, together with Raphael’s new approach towards this theme, will also be explored through the loan of Pontormo’s Visitation from Carmignano. The possibility of exhibiting these two paintings together is a central element of the exhibition, allowing for further reflection within this ambitious project.
– Branconio Palace. The second theme will be Palazzo Branconio in Rome, no longer existing, but originally located in a prestigious position on the road to the Vatican, and among the most innovative creations of Raphaelesque architecture.

MATERIALS ON DISPLAY AND SETUP

The exhibition offers an unprecedented combination of paintings, drawings, prints, architectural models, archival documents and educational apparatus. The figure of Giovanni Battista Branconio, protagonist of Leo X’s Rome, client and friend of the artist from Urbino, is also highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the valorisation of the works of Raphael’s workshop, to highlight production processes, collaborations and differentiations of the hands. The installation, designed to guarantee accessible and inclusive use, integrates interpretative panels, digital reconstructions and multimedia stations for in-depth analysis.

CATALOG AND EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES

The exhibition itinerary will be accompanied by a catalog in Italian, fully illustrated, written and edited by the curators, with contributions from Francesco Desideri, Francesco Paolo Di Teodoro, Bruce Edelstein and Ana González Mozo, important scholars in the sector. The volume will offer a critical synthesis of the research presented in the exhibition, scientific documentation, bibliographical apparatus and high-quality reproductions. The catalog will be available for sale at the Museum bookshop and through selected editorial channels.
An illustrated book has been created dedicated to children between 8 and 12 years old, who will be able to follow Mary and Elizabeth, protagonists of a fascinating story in the work the Visitation, created by Raffaello Sanzio for his friend Giovanni Battista Branconio, in an extraordinary journey through the streets, squares and monuments of the city of L’Aquila, starting from the National Museum of Abruzzo.

ACCESSIBILITY

The Museum also continues its commitment, already started in 2022, towards increasingly accessible, inclusive and participatory cultural enjoyment, placing the expansion and diversification of audiences at the centre. In this perspective, a visit itinerary dedicated to blind and visually impaired people is generated, with the provision for the use and visit experience of boxes containing guides in Braille and Minolta prints and facilitated guides aimed at people with intellectual disabilities created with materials in Easy to Read language and in Augmentative Alternative Communication (CAA).
Furthermore, on the occasion of this temporary exhibition, MUNDA involves the National Deaf Organization, providing aspects of digital accessibility, with the creation of n. 2 video guides dedicated to the work and the exhibition itinerary; the interpreting service in Italian Sign Language (LIS) for the presentation press conference and the conduction of n. 3 specialist guided tours, to be scheduled in the months of June, July and September.