“How Classics are Born: Autographs of Italian Literature.
On display from Jan. 27 to April 25
The Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, in collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome and with the support of the CHANGES Foundation, presents the exhibition “How Classics are Born. The Autographs of Italian Literature” scheduled at Villa Farnesina from January 27 to April 25, 2026.
The exhibition stems from the Autografi dei letterati italiani project, directed by Matteo Motolese and Emilio Russo, which led to the discovery and cataloguing of more than 8,000 manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The exhibition invites the public to discover the more intimate and processual side of literary masterpieces, far from the idea of “still and perfect” works.
On display, exceptional testimonies: from Boccaccio’s Decameron to the manuscripts of Orlando furioso, from Leopardi’s Operette morali to Montale’s notes. The initiative is flanked by an International Conference (Jan. 26-28, 2026) at the Accademia dei Lincei and La Sapienza, dedicated to the project’s 20 years of research and the prospects for digital philology.
