With the opening held on 6 July at Palazzo Lanfranchi, Matera pays tribute to one of the greatest artists in contemporary photography. “Mimmo Jodice. Mediterraneo” invites visitors on a journey through memory, archaeology and Mediterranean identity, offering a vision that brings new light into the places and symbols of the civilizations that shaped the Mare Nostrum.

The exhibition, on view until 8 November 2026 before travelling to the Centre d’Art Moderne in Tétouan in Morocco, is one of the flagship events of Matera and Tétouan Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue 2026. Through the universal language of photography, it strengthens the cultural dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

The inauguration was attended by Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli, President of the Basilicata Region Vito Bardi, Mayor of Matera Antonio Nicoletti, Director General of the Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 Rita Orlando, President of the MUNAF – National Museum of Photography Davide Rondoni, Director of the National Museums of Matera and the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Basilicata Raffaella Bonaudo, Barbara Jodice representing the Mimmo Jodice Studio, exhibition curator Carlo Sala, and Angelo Piero Cappello, Director General of the Mission Unit for Cultural Cooperation with Africa and the Greater Mediterranean.

During the opening ceremony Minister Giuli stated: “Matera is the ideal place to host the exhibition dedicated to Mimmo Jodice. It comes at the perfect moment, when Matera and Basilicata Region have the opportunity to represent Italy across the entire Mediterranean.”

Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019 Director General Rita Orlando added: “Jodice uses light in the same way that Matera uses stone, bringing statues and the shared memories of the many civilizations that have shaped the Mediterranean throughout history, out of the shadows. At a historical moment marked by division, culture and dialogue are not ornaments but the vital infrastructure on which we can build our shared future.”

Promoted by the Mission Unit for Cultural Cooperation with Africa and the Greater Mediterranean of the Italian Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Municipality of Matera, Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, the MUNAF – National Museum of Photography and the Mimmo Jodice Studio, the exhibition brings together 83 works, including 68 rare vintage prints produced by Mimmo Jodice himself between the late 1980s and the early 1990s for his celebrated Mediterraneo series, alongside more recent works that testify to the continuity of his artistic research.