On December 22, 2024, the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, together with a group of friars from the Friary of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome, visited an exhibition dedicated to the Canticle of the Creatures.
The exhibition, entitled “Laudato sie! Nature and Learning: The Cultural Legacy of Friar Francis,” is on display at the Museum of Rome at Palazzo Braschi, and gives viewers a chance to savor the wonder that characterizes the Franciscan way of looking at the world.
Over the centuries, this wonder has inspired exploration across various fields of knowledge. The exhibition illustrates this journey through medieval manuscripts and ancient printed texts preserved at the Sacred Convent of Assisi, thematically displayed according to the verses of the Canticle authored by St. Francis. Visitors can admire the broad interests of the friars, which ranged from theology and philosophy to astronomy, mathematics, optics, geometry, physics, and even alchemy and medicine. There are some surprising discoveries as well, such as a discipline called metoposcopy (the divination of a person’s personality and fate based on the lines of his forehead).
The collection on display begins with volume Number One of the Fondo Antico [ancient book collection] of the library of the Sacred Convent of Assisi: a priceless incunable [early printed booklet] of the Book of Genesis, a gift from St. Louis IX, King of France in the mid-13th century. The exhibition ends in a room dedicated to Franciscan literature, showing ancient codices, one of which features the Canticle of the Creatures. The display explains the origins of this remarkable piece of Italian vernacular literature. The literary artifacts are complemented by texts and interactive tools that draw visitors’ attention to particularly interesting information.
This exhibition is linked to the 800th anniversary of St. Francis composing his poetic Canticle of the Creatures. The exhibition was made possible through the efforts of Friars Luciano BERTAZZO and Carlo BOTTERO, and their collaborators. It will remain open to the public through January 6, 2025. Afterwards, it will move to Assisi, where it will be on display at the Sacred Convent from April 7 to October 12, 2025.
Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK
