Exhibition “…al battesimo fu chiamato Pietro” – from 2 July to 30 September 2023 – Città della Pieve

During the year of the celebrations for the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino, Città della Pieve, his hometown, pays tribute to an absolute protagonist of the Italian Renaissance. The presentation of the exhibition took place at the Sala della Crociera, in the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture in the presence of the State Secretary for Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi, and the Mayor of Città della Pieve Fausto Risini, of the President of the Organizing Committee for the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the death of the painter Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino Ilaria Borletti Buitoni, the Deputy Mayor Michela Nocentini, the Councillors for Culture, Tourism and Budget of Città della Pieve Luca Marchegiani, Daniela D’Alessandro and Lorenzo Castelletti, and the curators of the exhibition Vittoria Garibaldi, Francesco Federico Mancini and Nicoletta Baldini.

The exhibition is divided into three exhibition venues, Palazzo Della Corgna, Museo Civico Diocesano di Santa Maria dei Servi and Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi, in which the works by Pietro Vannucci, still preserved on-site, are exhibited in dialogue with other masterpieces by the master and other illustrious Renaissance painters such as Pintoricchio, Cosimo Rosselli, Ghirlandaio and their Florentine and Umbrian collaborators. Twenty-seven works are desplayed to retrace a fundamental part of the history of art through masterpieces, on loan from the most important Italian and foreign museums: from the Vatican Pinacoteca to the Uffizi Galleries, from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria.

The exhibition starts from the extraordinary works that Perugino left in his city, The Adoration of the Magi in the Oratorio dei Bianchi, the Baptism in the Cathedral, the Deposition from the Cross and the Lamentation on the Dead Christ in the church of Santa Maria dei Servi, investigating the sources of inspiration, the models created by Perugino himself and other painters, the historical context in which the works were created and the birth of that “Perugino model” so important for contemporary painters and later generations.

The first section of the exhibition offers a reflection on the Adoration of the Magi of Città della Pieve in comparison with the Adoration of the Shepherds. The second section, curated by Antonio Natali, focuses on the Baptism of Christ in the cathedral, exposed in an immersive room where comparisons with other similar works will be highlighted. The third section concerns the work by Pietro Vannucci within the Sistine Chapel in relation to his collaborators. The fourth section will deal with the Florentine workshop of the Divine painter while the fifth section is dedicated to the Chapel of Santa Maria della Stella, the Deposition from the Cross (or Descent from the Cross) and the Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The exhibition is also enriched by five original manuscripts that testify to the strong link between Pietro Vannucci and Città della Pieve, including the contract between the brotherhood of Disciplinati of Città della Pieve and the painter for the payment of the fresco realized at the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi.

State Secretary for Culture Vittorio Sgarbi explained that “Città della Pieve is a place of happiness. Perugino leaves his extreme works in the city where he was born, where the thought is closer to God. We feel it too by looking at his Adoration of the Magi”.

The Mayor of Città della Pieve Fausto Risini stressed the importance of the exhibition and the project behind it: “Petrus Christofori Vannutii by Castro Plebis, this is how Perugino signed the panel he realized to adorn the high altar of the Cathedral of Città della Pieve, the altarpiece wanted by the citizens of Città della Pieve depicting the two saints Patrons Gervasio and Protasio who support the banners with the insignia of the city. Pietro Vannucci is proud to emphasize his origins. In the fifth centenary of his death the town of Città della Pieve has therefore wanted to set in motion a large organization, a team work able to pay homage to his most illustrious son, a celebration worthy of its greatness and his legacy to the city of five masterpieces, beyond those that we know have been lost. Since its establishment, the Administration has worked towards this goal, creating an organizational and a scientific committee that includes prestigious names: Vittoria Garibaldi, Francesco Federico Mancini, Nicoletta Baldini, Antonio Natali. A work that lasted years, a great investment for the future of the city with renovated exhibition spaces, over thirty works on-loan from some of the most important Italian and European museums, attention to new technologies with digital reconstructions and an immersive room. This exhibition is a great challenge, and his native city was ready for it, with an exciting exhibition project of extraordinary quality, whose echo is destined to last over time”.

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni, President of the Organizing Committee for the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the death of the painter Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino, added: “One of the objectives of the Committee is to promote the figure of one of the most important painters of the fifteenth century, but also to encourage tourism development processes for the entire Umbrian region. This important new exhibition dedicated to Perugino, in addition to offering extraordinary examples of his art, has the merit of leading us through the villages of Città della Pieve, the city that gave him birth and that saw the start of his career, leading us to discover, or to rediscover precious treasures such as Palazzo Della Corgna, the Diocesan Museum of Santa Maria dei Servi and the Oratory of Santa Maria dei Bianchi”

Organized by the Municipality of Città della Pieve thanks also to the contribution by the “Promoter Committee of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the death of the painter Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino, which has awarded the exhibition project quality, the exhibition will be open to the public from Sunday, July 2 and will be open every day from 10 am to 7 pm.. A single entrance ticket allows access to all locations. The full ticket has a cost of 14 euros, the reduced ticket of 10 euros (groups of minimum 15 people, children from 13 to 25 years), for residents of the municipality of Città della Pieve there is a special ticket reduced to 5 euros, the ticket is free for children up to 12 years, ICOM members and tour guides.

All info on www.peruginocittadellapieve.it.