Raphael’s Visitation returns to L’Aquila after 400 years
For centuries, the space was empty. Raphael’s Visitation, painted around 1517 for the church of San Silvestro, left L’Aquila in 1655 during the Spanish occupation. It entered the royal collections of Philip IV and eventually the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
This summer it will come back.
From 27 June to 27 September 2026, the altarpiece will be shown at the Castello Cinquecentesco, home of MuNDA, the National Museum of Abruzzo. The exhibition is part of the programme for L’Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture 2026. The show is titled “The Visitation in L’Aquila. Raphael and Pontormo.”
The project has now received formal approval from the city council. L’Aquila’s municipal government has endorsed the agreement with MuNDA and acknowledged the exhibition plan already approved by the Capital of Culture committee. The total cost is estimated at €892,000, with €711,000 financed through the Restart 2 programme. The remaining funds will come through co-financing.
Under the agreement, MuNDA will oversee the scientific and curatorial work, while the municipality will coordinate administration, communication and funding. Mayor Pierluigi Biondi described the initiative as a key moment in the cultural programme of 2026 and a project built through cooperation between local and national institutions.
The return of the painting required coordination between the Museo del Prado, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of Spain in Italy, the Diocese of Pistoia, the city of L’Aquila and MuNDA. Museum director Federica Zalabra said the project reached its final stage after nearly two years of preparation.
The painting itself measures 202 by 146 centimetres. For most of its history it has lived elsewhere. For three months next summer, it will stand again in the city where it was first made.
