The famous “Plague Altarpiece” by Guido Reni (1575-1642) can be seen in Room 24 of the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna (via Belle Arti, 56). It was conceived in 1630 by the Italian painter on request by the local authorities, as a processional banner to thank the Virgin Mary for helping ending the plague epidemic that heavily struck the city in the Spring of that same year. The Patron Saints of Bologna are looking at Mary while in the lower part of the painting, under a leaden sky, carts exit the city walls to transport plague victims to burial1.
- Photos by Luca Borghi @ (August 2022)
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