Bologna, September 18, 2026 – An immersive journey through lights and colors in the heart of the historic center, to discover how the facade of San Petronio would have appeared if one of the many projects developed over the centuries to complete it had actually been realized. But above all, an extraordinary show, which on its opening night managed to fill piazza Maggiore with wonder and smiles, among those who wanted to capture the show with their smartphone and those who instead let themselves be lulled by the play of lights.
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The videomapping designed by the artist Luca Agnani
Thus “La Piazza si Riaccende,” the initiative promoted by Bologna Festival in collaboration with Alfasigma in support of Progetto Itaca Onlus, returned to transform the heart of the city into a true open-air theater.
Through the videomapping designed by the artist Luca Agnani, an international specialist in the discipline, some of the projects conceived over the years came to life on the facade of the basilica: projections that virtually restore a Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical San Petronio, bringing to life the architectural hypotheses of architects such as Andrea Palladio, Giulio Romano, Baldassarre Peruzzi, Vignola, Terribilia, and Girolamo Rainaldi, up to the contemporary “green” proposal by Mario Cucinella.
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Great success for the opening night
The opening night was accompanied by art historian Jacopo Veneziani, who guided the audience through a narrative dedicated to the history of piazza Maggiore and the relationship between civic identity and religious authority, and by a musical program featuring three young performers from the School of Opera of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
The upcoming scheduled events
For those who missed the first night, no worries: the show returns on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, offering a new opportunity to look up and be surprised by all the never-before-seen faces of the basilica.
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