Sacred Threads at Santa Barbara

Contemporary art enters the church

In the heart of Metanopoli, the modernist district of San Donato Milanese built around Eni, the Church of Santa Barbara hosts an exhibition throughout 2026 that brings together the sacred and the language of contemporary art. Trame Sacre gathers sixteen tapestries dedicated to religious, biblical, and evangelical themes in the church's matroneum, created by internationally renowned artists.

Sixteen works, sixteen visions

The tapestries reinterpret episodes and figures from Christian tradition through a contemporary lens. Among the featured artists are Stefano Arienti with his Last Supper, Vanessa Beecroft with Jesus Cleansing the Temple, and Michelangelo Pistoletto with the Glory of the Third Paradise, alongside thirteen other artists who approach sacred subjects with diverse outcomes. The project, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, was originally created for the 800th anniversary of the Cosenza Cathedral and now arrives in Metanopoli in a twin version.

A rare dialogue between faith and art

For the curator, the exhibition represents "a unique case in the relationship between religion and contemporary art," a response to Pope Paul VI's invitation to artists in 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council, to resume dialogue with the Church. Trame Sacre embraces that challenge and brings it into a living place of worship, not a museum.

The 70th anniversary of Santa Barbara

The exhibition is also a tribute to the church hosting it: Santa Barbara celebrates the 70th anniversary of its founding. A symbolic building of Metanopoli and 20th-century sacred architecture, it welcomes the works in its matroneum, creating a striking interplay between modernist architecture, liturgical space, and contemporary tapestries. Organized by the Riccardo Misasi Foundation Ereditare la Terra, the exhibition can be visited in San Donato Milanese until the end of 2026.