From 4 March to 4 June, the seventeenth-century Emilian artist (Cento, FE, 1591 - Bologna, 1666), who left important testimonies in the city, will be celebrated with a series of highly suggestive initiatives of considerable historical-artistic importance , which will unite the Cathedral and Palazzo Farnese in a single journey, between the sacred and the profane.
Guercino in Piacenza is promoted by the Piacenza and Vigevano Foundation, by the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio and by the Municipality of Piacenza, with the patronage of the Emilia Romagna Region, the MiBACT and with the contribution of the Chamber of Commerce of Piacenza, of APT Servizi Regione Emilia Romagna, of Iren; main sponsor Crédit Agricole Cariparma.
The fulcrum of the whole event will be the Cathedral, whose dome houses the extraordinary cycle of frescoes created by Guercino between 1626 and 1627 and which will be presented in all its beauty with a new lighting created by Davide Groppi.
Exceptionally, for the entire duration of the event, visitors will have the almost unique and unrepeatable possibility of ascending inside the dome of the Cathedral of Piacenza, to closely admire the six compartments frescoed with images of the prophets Haggai, Hosea, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Micah, Jeremiah, the lunettes in which episodes from Jesus' childhood alternate – Announcement to the Shepherds, Adoration of the Shepherds, Presentation in the Temple and Flight into Egypt – with eight fascinating Sibyls and the drum frieze.
The visit will be introduced by a multimedia room that will allow the public to read Guercino's masterpiece in an innovative way and to try an unprecedented immersive experience through special 3D viewers.
At the same time, the Ducal Chapel of Palazzo Farnese will host an exhibition, curated by Daniele Benati and Antonella Gigli, together with a scientific committee composed of Antonio Paolucci, Fausto Gozzi and David Stone, which will present a selection of 20 masterpieces by Guercino, able to restore the long parable that led him to be one of the most internationally loved Italian artists of the seventeenth century.
As a corollary of the entire event, on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 March 2017, in the Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese, a conference will be held with leading Guercino experts who will communicate the most recent studies on the work of the master from Cento.
