Locus Hospitii

From June 4 to July 7, 2026, the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Margaret in Bologna hosts the exhibition Locus Hospitii.

The convent is currently home to women arriving through humanitarian corridors and other pathways, serving as a tangible space of welcome, protection and reconnection.

The project by Giampaolo Parrilla and Matteo Gobbo reflects on the relationship between migration, hospitality, and the construction and exploration of both inner and outer identities.

The exhibition brings into dialogue two different artistic approaches and two distinct perspectives on hospitality.

On the one hand, Matteo Gobbo's work explores the inner and spiritual dimension of hospitality: a space made up of voids that are gradually filled, shared memories and possibilities for connection, where encountering the other becomes a human and transformative experience.

On the other hand, Giampaolo Parrilla's work reflects on the superficial forms of contemporary hospitality, linked to the rapid images of migration emergencies and the media spectacle surrounding migrants. His works show how the migrant subject is often reduced to an icon of the survivor, the rescued person or the victim, ultimately resulting in a form of non-hospitality.