Paolo Giovio and Timeless Portraits
English translation of the exhibition catalogue published by Electa
Como, Pinacoteca Civica, 24 October 2025 – 8 February 2026
The Civic Art Gallery of Como celebrates one of its most illustrious citizens with a major exhibition dedicated to Paolo Giovio (1483–1552), humanist, bishop, physician, and historian, as well as the creator of the most ambitious portrait gallery of the European Renaissance.
The exhibition, curated by Bruno Fasola, brings together for the first time a significant group of original works from the Giovio collection, coming from the Pinacoteca itself, prestigious museum institutions, and private collectors. The last event dedicated to the Giovio collection dates back to 1983, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of Paolo Giovio’s birth; therefore, the Como exhibition is highly anticipated by both the public and scholars.
The collection, assembled over approximately thirty years, comprised more than four hundred portraits of figures from all eras and regions: from Romulus to the prominent personalities of Giovio’s own time, including figures from the Muslim world, Ethiopia, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
The selection, remarkably inclusive for its time, also featured adversaries of Christendom such as Turkish pirates, personal enemies of Giovio like Georg Frundsberg, and notable women such as Faustina Mancini and Rossellana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent. A significant portion was devoted to scholars, humanists, popes, and churchmen: from Pietro Bembo to Daniele Barbaro and Pope Clement VII.