Priest and art historian Don Giuseppe Fusari gains 60k Instagram followers with direct, youthful approach

Don Giuseppe Fusari, a 33-year priest with a PhD in art history, has amassed over 60,000 followers on Instagram by blending religious topics with art history in a direct, youthful style. He taught at Università Cattolica di Brescia, directed the Museo Diocesano di Brescia, authored publications on Brescian churches and historic buildings, and wrote a monograph on German artist Johann Carl Loth. Fusari started his social media presence by engaging people at the gym, a setting where religious and artistic discussions are uncommon, finding positive curiosity without suspicion. He advocates for not trivializing art history, citing Jacopo Veneziani and Philippe Daverio as models for engaging diverse audiences on high-level topics without simplification. For Fusari, communication means returning to dreaming, contrasting deep engagement with art against superficial selfies in front of masterpieces like the Mona Lisa or Botticelli's Venus.