A new painting enriches the exhibition Il Cinquecento a Polirone. From Correggio to Giulio Romano, curated by Paolo Bertelli with the collaboration of Paola Artoni, which is held in the large refectory and in the former Benedictine Basilica of San Benedetto Po. In fact, a monumental canvas (260×470 cm) made by Lorenzo Costa il Giovane (Mantua 1536-1582) and coming from the parish church of Boccadiganda has come. The work depicts the Supper in the house of Simon Pharisee. The painting, designed by Renato Berzaghi, had not been made for the small church on the banks of the Po, rebuilt around 1730, where, among other things, placed on the counter-façade, it blocked the window which gave light to the nave. The typical elongated format underlines how it should have originally been placed in the refectory of a convent of a religious order. It is interesting to note that in May 1578 the Mantuan painter Lorenzo Costa il Giovane had received from the Abbot of San Pietro di Modena on behalf of Father Don Orazio, cellar of Ognissanti, twenty gold shields as a deposit for a painting of the "Cenacolo" to be made for the refectory of San Benedetto. This could be a significant trace to link the canvas to a plausible origin from Polirone. The subject is inspired by Roman subjects (Costa had resided in the Eternal City from 1561 to 1564) and by various engravings (including that of the Mantuan Giorgio Ghisi, taken by Lambert Lombard, depicting the Last Supper). The exhibition of the canvas is a precious opportunity to appreciate a masterpiece of the Mantua sixteenth century usually not visible. The exhibition Il Cinquecento a Polirone. From Correggio to Giulio Romano is a real event that has drawn attention to San Benedetto Po also by the national media: the return of paintings of extraordinary value such as the Cenacolo of Girolamo Bonsignori and the door of the ancient organ made by the young Correggio are events difficult to repeat shortly. The presence of works of art of great importance, then (Federico Zuccari, Paris Bordon, Paolo Farinati, drawings by Giulio Romano and paintings from his workshop, miniated codes, statues by Antonio Begarelli) makes the exhibition in progress in the large refectory and in the basilica of San Benedetto Po (until January 6, 2020) a spectacular and high-level exhibition. Of particular interest, moreover, are the many restorations carried out and the non-invasive investigations carried out on different works on display, which have led to numerous discoveries of no secondary importance, while the catalogue (PubliPaolini) proposes an impressive iconographic apparatus and the participation of scholars at an international level. INFO AND BOOKINGS San Benedetto Po INFO POINT tel. 0376/623036 info@turismosanbenedettopo.it www.turismosanbenedettopo.it