For the first time in almost seven centuries, the three surviving parts of the Gospel of Mark, regarded as one of the most precious codices of medieval Europe, will be brought together in Aquileia. From 12 September 2026 to 25 April 2027, Palazzo Meizlik will host the exhibition «THE GOSPEL OF MARK. Seven Centuries. Three Fragments. One European Story».

The exhibition is promoted and organised by the Fondazione Aquileia with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Aquileia, the Basilica of Aquileia, the National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli (part of the Historical Museum and Park of the Castle of Miramare, Regional Directorate of National Museums of Friuli Venezia Giulia), the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, the Metropolitan Chapter of St Vitus in Prague, the Prague Castle Archive at the Office of the President of the Czech Republic, and the Archdiocese of Prague.

The project is the fruit of a patient work of cultural diplomacy, one capable of weaving together the will of Italian and Czech civil, religious and museum institutions, and of making possible an undertaking of extraordinary scholarly and symbolic value. Among the most significant loans is the fragment held by the Metropolitan Chapter of St Vitus in Prague and by the Cathedral Treasury, considered an indivisible heritage of the Czech State and its people, which will leave the country's territory for the first time.

But who was Mark? Tradition identifies him as the evangelist who authored the second Gospel, a disciple and interpreter of the apostle Peter. Probably born in Palestine in the early first century, according to the account handed down he is said to have preached across many lands of the Mediterranean, dying a martyr in Alexandria, Egypt, around 68 AD. It was Alexandria that guarded his remains, until in 828 two Venetian merchants translated them to Venice, of which Mark became the patron saint. Yet his figure also has ancient roots in the upper Adriatic: Aquileian tradition holds that Mark, sent by Peter, came to preach in Aquileia itself, where he is said to have laid the foundations of the local Church, consecrating its first bishop, Hermagoras. It was from this apostolic memory that the Patriarchate of Aquileia drew its spiritual authority for centuries.

Aquileia is, indeed, the place where this story began. A «Splendida Civitas» in late antiquity and, in the early Middle Ages, the largest diocese in Europe, the Patriarchate of Aquileia was a bridge between Rome, Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire and the Slavic world, establishing itself as one of the continent's foremost spiritual, political and cultural centres. It is this historical centrality that made it possible to reunite the three fragments in the same place, confirming the UNESCO site of Aquileia as the crossroads of a network of relationships that still today unites European institutions, cultures and countries.

More than an ancient manuscript, the Gospel of Mark is one of the highest testimonies of medieval culture. Venerated for centuries as the evangelist's own autograph, it was, according to historical research, produced in the sixth century. Long preserved in Aquileia, the codex was eventually dismembered, and its three parts went their separate ways. The exhibition recounts this story, restoring unity to a history that belongs to the cultural heritage of all Europe.

The project and the programme of scholarly and educational initiatives will be presented to the Italian and international press on Thursday 10 September 2026 in Rome.