Antonello da Messina's Ecce Homo arrives at MuNDA in L'Aquila

The Italian government's acquisition of Antonello da Messina's 'Ecce Homo' for €12.6 million has culminated in its installation at the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo (MuNDA) in L'Aquila, the 2026 Italian Capital of Culture. The painting, created around 1470, was purchased in February 2026 just before a Sotheby's New York auction. A ceremony on June 8, 2026, attended by Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli and Mayor Pierluigi Biondi, marked its arrival. Previously displayed at Palazzo Madama in Rome, the work now joins MuNDA's collection, a decision that surprised many who expected it to go to major museums like Capodimonte in Naples, Brera in Milan, or the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. Sicily also lobbied for the painting, with regional deputy Fabio Venezia arguing it belonged to the island, Antonello's birthplace, especially after the 1908 earthquake destroyed much of Messina and its artworks. The choice of L'Aquila, itself devastated by a 2009 earthquake, aligns with the city's cultural reconstruction narrative. The acquisition is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's policy to assert national identity through art, following a €30 million purchase of a Caravaggio portrait. The small tempera-on-wood panel (20.3 x 14.9 cm) depicts Christ crowned with thorns on the recto and Saint Jerome in the desert on the verso, showing wear from devotional kisses.