On Saturday, September 13, Siena ’s Palazzo delle Papesse celebrates the first anniversary of its reopening as a space dedicated to art and culture, thanks to the management of Opera Laboratori. The palace, a historic home destined for Catherine, sister of Pope Pius II Aeneas Silvio Piccolomini, has been confirmed over the past 12 months as a landmark for the Sienese community and visitors from all over Italy. The building has hosted exhibitions, cultural meetings, workshops and educational activities, involving a diverse audience with particular attention to families and children.
“This first year,” comments Beppe Costa, president and CEO of Opera Laboratori, "has been a challenge and an excitement for all of us. Thanks to the commitment of our Opera Laboratories, we have succeeded with hard work in achieving what we believed in. Palazzo delle Papesse is once again a living place, combining memory and future, history and creativity. We want it to continue to grow as a shared space for the city and for contemporary art and beyond."
In a year of activity, Palazzo delle Papesse inaugurated its new exhibition season with the exhibition Julio Le Parc. The Discovery of Perception, on view until March 16, followed by the exhibition Hugo Pratt, Imaginary Geographies open from April 11 and running until October 19, marking the 30th anniversary of the death of the famous Corto Maltese author. The exhibitions have helped consolidate the Palace’s role as a cultural center open to innovation and dialogue between different artistic disciplines.
The calendar of future exhibitions includes major appointments. From Nov. 21 to May 3, Palazzo delle Papesse will host a retrospective dedicated to Armando Testa (1917-1992), a leading figure in the field of advertising and contemporary art. The exhibition, curated by Valentino Catricalà and Gemma De Angelis Testa, is produced by Opera Laboratori in collaboration with Galleria Continua and TestaperTesta. The exhibition will present a comprehensive overview of Testa’s career, from his famous advertising campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s, including the digestive Antonetto, Punt e Mes, Caballero and Carmencita, Planet Papalla and Pippo the Blue Hippo, to his pictorial, film and sculptural experiments.
The aim is to present an integral view of the artist, showing how his production influenced successive generations of creatives and how the images he made have become part of the collective memory. Accompanying the exhibition will be published a volume collecting contributions from scholars such as Gillo Dorfles and Germano Celant, along with testimonies from contemporary artists and unpublished historical documents. Beginning May 22, 2026 and running through Nov. 1, the Siena institution will offer Abitare a Siena il Rinascimento, curated by Laura Bonelli and Marilena Caciorgna, in collaboration with Fondazione Monte dei Paschi, Banca Monte dei Paschi and the Stibbert Museum in Florence. The exhibition aims to document the artistic production related to Sienese domestic interiors between the 15th and 16th centuries, including historiated chests, backboards, cribs, bedheads, textiles and furnishings once intended to adorn noble residences. The exhibition aims to restore the objects to their original function, recreating the environment of the home and fostering an understanding of the material culture of the period.
The Palazzo’s birthday will also be celebrated with initiatives dedicated to holders of the Tessera del curioso, a card that allows unlimited access to the building, exhibition previews, extra content, podcasts and discounts on the cafeteria, bookshop, merchandising and workshops. Free guided tours and an extended opening with an evening aperitif in the historic courtyard will be organized on Saturday, September 13. During the evening, a Tessera holder will be drawn to win a drawing inspired by Hugo Pratt’s universes, created by artist Irene Lupi.
Throughout September, Palazzo delle Papesse will offer additional events: Prima Lux, with the sunrise seen from the palace’s rooftop, the talk Assisting the Darkness on the collective art project, Hugo Pratt Thursdays with guided tours and musical performances in collaboration with Amat, the presentation of the volume Hugo Pratt and Corto Maltese. Literature and Publishing Adventures of A Ballad of the Salty Sea by Daniele Clarizia, to Bright-Night, the European night of female researchers in collaboration with the Siena Art Institute. Palazzo delle Papesse is thus confirmed as a place of multidisciplinary culture, with a program capable of attracting both residents and tourists, through exhibitions, workshops, publications and initiatives dedicated to all age groups.
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| Siena, Palazzo delle Papesse celebrates first birthday: here are the exhibitions, from Armando Testa to Renaissance |
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