Ludovico e Annibale Carracci. Old stories about two Bolognese mantlepieces from the Michelangelo Poletti Collection

From May 18 to September 22, it will be possible to admire, thanks to the generosity of Michelangelo Poletti, the current owner, in Bologna at the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte, Annibale Carracci's fresco with the “Death of Dido” and Ludovico Carracci's “Alexander the Great and Taide Set Fire to Persepolis.”

Annibale Carracci's fresco with the “Death of Dido” has never been exhibited to the public. Ludovico Carracci's “Alexander the Great and Taida set fire to Persepolis” only once, in 1993, at a monographic exhibition on the artist. 

The frescoes are again visible to the public after a restoration carried out between 2023 and 2024 by Giovanni Giannelli of the Ottorino Nonfarmale Laboratory. Also on display are two engravings inspired by the two frescoes and a fresco from Casa Paleotti, part of a cycle with “Stories of Apollo,” created by Ludovico and his team in the early 17th century. The exhibition is curated by Angelo Mazza.