Multimedia exhibition: “St Francis: the Story of a Face”

The multimedia exhibition “St Francis: the Story of a Face” was officially opened at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on 8 October. The Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Sofia, in collaboration with BAS, are presenting this cultural initiative of international significance which can be visited until 30 November 2026. The curators are Livia Ficoroni and Giulia Fortunato.

The initiative, launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic, forms part of a rich programme of international events dedicated to the historical figure of Saint Francis of Assisi to mark the eight-hundredth anniversary of his death. This provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the saint’s personality both in historical and religious terms and in terms of his artistic representation.

The visit of the exposition to the building of BAS holds deep symbolic, academic and universal significance, said Corresponding Member Evdokia Pasheva, Vice-President of BAS, who welcomed the guests at the opening on behalf of the Academy’s leadership. “As researchers of memory and culture, we immediately recognise a remarkable spiritual thread,” noted Corr. Memb. Pasheva, adding that in 2026 the Bulgarian people would mark a significant anniversary: 1,080 years since the Dormition and 1,150 years since the birth of our heavenly guardian and patron, St John of Rila the Wonderworker. This meeting here in Sofia with his Western spiritual brother – St Francis of Assisi – forms an inspiring bridge between East and West, the Vice-President emphasised in her address, stressing that the project was not merely an act of religious veneration but an in-depth, interdisciplinary visual study.

“We are the first Italian embassy in the world to host this exhibition which will subsequently travel to other European capitals,” noted H.E. Marcello Apicella, Italian Ambassador to Bulgaria, in his address and expressed his gratitude to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for its support. On 23 October, a conference will be held at BAS featuring Monsignor Francesco Braschi, Doctor of Sciences of the Ambrosiana Library entitled “Little Brother Francis – brother to all, a giant of humanity and faith”, the ambassador announced. After presenting the two cultural events, H.E. Apicella remarked: “If you happen to visit Italy in the near future, do go to the sanctuary of “La Verna”: it is a place where everything we know about St Francis seems to come to life.”

The exhibition has been designed to allow it to be moved and easily presented in various venues, recreating the physicality of wood, complemented by visual and auditory cues for a journey that allows visitors to appreciate the charm of this figure as depicted in the most famous masterpieces of Italian and international art, said Giulia Fortunato, the curator of the exhibition. Francis, in fact, amidst the turbulent digital revolution we are experiencing has become a paradigm of the centrality of the human being and the connection between humanity and nature calling us to balance, peace and brotherhood, she added, expressing her gratitude for the collaborative teamwork of all those who supported the exhibition project.

Representatives of the clergy, the diplomatic corps, the academic community and cultural institutions attended the official opening of the exhibition at BAS.

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The story of the saint is told, beginning with the first depictions that appeared immediately after his death (Assisi, 3 October 1226), through to the work of Giotto, and on to the various ways in which artists, including non-Catholics, have portrayed him over the centuries: from Cimabue to Pietro da Cortona, from Giovanni Bellini to Caravaggio, from Adolfo Wildt to Mimmo Paladino, right up to contemporary artistic interpretations. With a brief foray into the graphic arts – from Duilio Cambellotti and Adolfo De Carolis to Émile Bernard and Joan Miró, through to comics and cinema, recalling the famous films “The Flowers of St. Francis” (Roberto Rossellini, 1950), “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” (Franco Zeffirelli, 1972) and “Francis of Assisi” (Liliana Cavani, 1989).

The exhibition aims to take visitors on a comprehensive visual journey, presenting in an interactive way the many facets of Francis – the various “faces” of the first saint whose physical appearance we know from the description by Thomas of Celano, as well as some of the key events from his extraordinary life.

The reproduced works allow us to grasp the enduring nature of the messages of humility and solitude, of fragility and strength, of suffering and wonder at God’s creation which are shared across eight hundred years of artistic works depicting a figure who inspired some of the most valuable works in the history of Western art.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION