The exhibition – Habitus Fidei

The exhibition -
Habitus Fidei

The robes of the Confraternities: a journey through art, history, and faith.

Habitus Fidei It was born from a reflection on the connections among history, culture, and confraternal tradition, in the context of the Jubilee Year. What is the role of confraternities in European history, and what has been their contribution to building a shared cultural identity?

The exhibition Habitus Fidei. The Vestments of the Confraternities: a journey through art, history, and faith offers a fascinating itinerary through the history of the Confraternities, with particular focus on the confraternal vestments and the visual documents that bear witness to their meaning and usage practices. Alongside the vestments, paintings, books, prints, and other relevant documents are presented to help understand this world.

Pisa, a crossroads for pilgrims along the Via Francigena, has always been a strategic point for travelers on their way to Rome. Its privileged position fostered centuries of cultural, religious, and artistic exchange, making it the ideal place to host an exhibition that explores the evolution of confraternal traditions through the language of dress.

The exhibition itinerary unfolds across three cities and four venues, tailoring the content to the specific characteristics of each location. The first stop is Pisa, from May 9 to June 20, 2025, where the exhibition is hosted at the Museo della Grafica (Palazzo Lanfranchi) and the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo. Here, a special route guides visitors through the permanent collection’s works, enriched with information that places them within the thematic framework of Habitus Fidei.

In the period from September to October 2025, the exhibition moves to Lucca, within the Church and Baptistery of Saints John and Reparata, with a specific focus on the Lucchese confraternities.

The final stop is Lugano (Switzerland), from November 7 to 23, 2025, where the exhibition is set up at Villa Ciani and focuses on the confraternities’ vestments of Ticino and their role in the religious and social history of the area.
Habitus Fidei offers visitors a unique opportunity to rediscover the richness of a cultural heritage that, over the centuries, has evolved while preserving its identity intact.

The stages

Palazzo Lanfranchi

Pisa
9 May - 29 June 2025

The Habitus Fidei exhibition begins in Pisa, in the evocative setting of Palazzo Lanfranchi and the Museo Nazionale San Matteo.

Museo Nazionale San Matteo

Pisa
9 May - 29 June 2025

On both sides of the Arno, you can discover more about the journey that confraternity vestments have taken through the centuries.

Church of Saints Giovanni and Reparata

Lucca
17 September - 25 October

After Pisa, the exhibition moves to Lucca at the end of summer, in the Church of Saints Giovanni and Reparata.

Villa Ciani

Lugano
8 November - 23 November 2025

Finally, the exhibition reaches Lake Lugano. The last stop is in the picturesque setting of Parco Ciani, where Habitus Fidei is open to the public from 8 November.

Organization

The curators

Lorenzo Cantoni

Director of the UNESCO Chair at USI - Università della Svizzera italiana

Graduated in Philosophy, he obtained a PhD in the field of education. He is a professor at USI – Università della Svizzera italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, where he serves as Director of the Institute of Digital Technologies for Communication and as Head of the UNESCO Chair in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in World Heritage Sites, established at USI in 2013. He is member of the WHES - World Heritage Experience Switzerland board and director of the Master in Digital Fashion Communication, offered in collaboration with Sorbonne University (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), as well as the Master in International Tourism.

Alessandro Tosi

Scientific Director of the Museo della Grafica at Palazzo Lanfranchi

He teaches and conducts research in the Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa as a professor of Modern Art History. He served as President of the degree program in "Cultural Heritage Sciences" from 2003 to 2006, President of the joint council of the degree programs in "Tourism Sciences" and "Design and Management of Mediterranean Tourism Systems" from 2008 to 2014 and from 2021 to 2023. He is currently Vice President of the University of Pisa’s Museum System. Since 2007, he has been the Scientific Director of the Museo della Grafica at Palazzo Lanfranchi (Municipality of Pisa, University of Pisa), which houses the collections of the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints of the University of Pisa.