Exhibition “The Baroque Century”

From November 20, 2026, to March 29, 2027, at the Monumental Complex of San Francesco, the CRC Foundation and Intesa Sanpaolo present the exhibition The Century of the Baroque. Bernini, Gentileschi, Rubens, a new chapter in the collaboration that has brought major figures in art history to Cuneo since 2022. Organized with the organizational support of MondoMostre, and curated by Maurizia Cicconi and Alessandro Cosma.

With this initiative, the CRC Foundation and Intesa Sanpaolo are inaugurating a new chapter in their collaboration, which has brought major figures in the history of art to Cuneo since 2022. The exhibition, organized with the organizational support of MondoMostre and curated by Maurizia Cicconi and Alessandro Cosma, will open to the public on Thursday, November 19th at 5:30 pm in the Monumental Complex of San Francesco.

The exhibition features a carefully selected collection of 25 works from Rome's National Galleries of Ancient Art—Palazzo Barberini and Galleria Corsini—institutions that house one of the most important public collections of Italian and European art from the 13th to the 18th century.

THE EXHIBITION PROJECT
The Century of the Baroque. Bernini, Gentileschi, Rubens reconstructs the extraordinary artistic and cultural conjuncture that, during the 17th century, made Rome the driving force of the Baroque and transformed the city into a true international crossroads of artists, ideas, and languages. At the center of the exhibition is the figure of Maffeo Barberini, elected pope in 1623 as Urban VIII, described by Alois Riegl as "the greatest patron and patron of the arts of the 17th century." Even before his election to the papacy, Barberini had distinguished himself as a refined scholar of letters and the arts. Once pope, he made culture and artistic patronage a fundamental instrument of his policy, relying on the most important figures of the contemporary scene.

It was in this context that works were born that would become symbols of the new era, such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini's monumental bronze baldachin for St. Peter's and Pietro da Cortona's spectacular decorations for Palazzo Barberini. Within a few decades, the style promoted by the papal court prevailed in Rome and beyond, influencing its artistic and cultural production.

Through masterpieces by 17th-century masters—including Bernini, Gentileschi, Rubens, Guercino, Guido Reni, Annibale Carracci, and Domenichino—the exhibition does not intend to exhaust the complexity of the Roman Baroque, but rather to restore its vitality through its protagonists, dominant ideas, and the mechanisms of an ambitious cultural project. From the early decades of the century to the full affirmation of Barberini's style, up to its legacy during the pontificate of Alexander VII Chigi, the exhibition recounts Rome's progressive transformation into the undisputed capital of the Baroque and the ability of that era to profoundly impact European artistic culture.

free admission until seats are filled