In 2026, Italy will celebrate the eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the most emblematic figures in Italian spiritual and cultural history, with a comprehensive program of initiatives combining art, music, reflection, and initiatives to promote historical heritage, which will also have a center in Genoa.

The project “Genoa for St. Francis: music, art, and spirituality” was created because the Carlo Felice Theater is the only opera house that is a member of the National Committee for Franciscan celebrations.

A round table will be set up in the Ligurian capital to discuss and develop initiatives with the Municipality of Genoa, the Liguria Region, the Archdiocese of Genoa, the Palazzo Ducale Foundation for Culture, and, of course, the Carlo Felice Theater Foundation.

“Being the only opera house part of the National Committee for Franciscan celebrations,” says superintendent Michele Galli, “is both an honor and a responsibility for us. With this project, we want to build a path that combines cultural and spiritual tradition with artistic research, involving the city in a journey of listening and remembrance. The new version of Cristian Carrara’s Transitus, the concerts in Franciscan churches, and the collaboration with civic and religious institutions testify to the role of the Carlo Felice as an open place of culture, capable of dialoguing with the territory and putting music at the service of the community. The celebrations dedicated to St. Francis remind us how much art can be an opportunity for encounter and growth: an invitation, now more necessary than ever, to rediscover a fraternal gaze towards the world.”

The activities of “Genoa for St. Francis: music, art, and spirituality” will take place between September and October, but in this first part of the year, there are some previews planned to accompany the public into the heart of the celebrations.