Panorama L’Aquila

Back again from 7 to 10 September 2023 Panorama is the cultural project that ITALICS annually dedicates to some of the most extraordinary locations in Italy.

Following the editions of Procida (2021) and Monopoli (2022), both curated by Vincenzo de Bellis, ITALICS chose L’Aquila for the third edition of Panorama and has invited Cristiana Perrella – curator and art critic – to conceive a multi-site exhibition for the Abruzzo capital.

L’Aquila was founded on the slopes of Gran Sasso in 1254 and rebuilt in 1266 by Charles I of Anjou. It was initially part of the Kingdom of Naples, then of the Hapsburg kingdom and then the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In its long history, it has known moments of power and splendor alternated with phases of decline, destruction, reconstruction and rebirth, related to the violent earthquakes that have struck it throughout its history, including the particularly dramatic one of 2009. Over the centuries, the city’s location in the heart of Italy, surrounded by imposing mountains, forests, lakes and waterways, has given it wealth and a strategic importance both politically and religiously, as well as economically and culturally. Today, there is still strong evidence of this history in the architecture and artistic heritage, and the legacy is kept alive through religious rites such as the Perdonanza Celestiniana and the prestige of institutions such as the Conservatory, the University and the Academy of Fine Arts.