Lea Contestabile Antologica a L'Aquila Capitale della Cultura 2026

On July 17, 2026, the first section of Lea Contestabile's anthological exhibition, 'Con le mani sporche di terra ti ho baciata,' opens at Palazzo Benedetti in L'Aquila. Curated by Mariano Cipollini, the show is part of L'Aquila Italian Capital of Culture 2026, promoted by the Municipality of L'Aquila. The anthological exhibition spans the entire 2026 solar year across multiple institutional venues in L'Aquila and its province, with around 50 works selected dialogically rather than chronologically to highlight themes and material solutions in Contestabile's research. This first section occupies ten rooms of Palazzo Benedetti, reopened for the Capital of Culture. Other curators include Barbara Drudi, Francesca Franco, and Simone Battiatto. Contestabile (born 1949 in Ortucchio) graduated in Painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti dell'Aquila in 1973, studied engraving at the Calcografia Nazionale di Roma, and taught at the Accademia from 1976 to 2014. In 1995 she founded and directs the MuBAq Museo dei Bambini L'Aquila, now in Fossa after the 2009 earthquake. The exhibition runs until August 30, 2026, with free entry daily.