The exhibition brings together for the first time the four Cortona laudari, a unique treasure in Italy’s cultural history and a key testimony to the birth of poetry and music in the vernacular. At its centre is the renowned Laudario di Cortona (ms. 91), the oldest known collection of songs in the Italian language, presented alongside the other manuscripts preserved in Cortona, Arezzo and Milan.

Through manuscripts, medieval documents, works of art and multimedia installations, the exhibition traces the spread of devotional song between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and highlights the role of confraternities, churches and the urban community in shaping the spiritual and civic identity of medieval Cortona.

The exhibition also explores the city’s historical context—from the conflicts between Guelphs and Ghibellines to the rise of the Casali Signoria—and presents significant artistic evidence, including the thirteenth-century painted Cross and the panel depicting the Stories of Santa Margherita.

A large section is dedicated to the reconstruction of the Laudesi Chapel of San Francesco and to the urban sites connected with the laudistic tradition. The project is completed by musical listening stations, digital access to the manuscripts and a programme of events, concerts and an international conference devoted to the origins of the lauda.