In 2020, eight hundred years will have passed since the martyrdom of a group of Italian Franciscan priests who, on January 16th 1220, were slain in North Africa. The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga has thus decided to include in its agenda for this year an exhibition that will highlight this historic event about a group of men who became known as the Martyrs of Morocco.

The most significant art pieces (jewelry, luxury and common ceramics, military pieces, monetary treasures, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, textiles, ivories and firearms) were chosen to provide a framework and exposure to this historical period, and the role it played in the broader experience which was the birth of Portuguese nationhood.

Curated by Santiago Macias and Joaquim Oliveira Caetano, this exhibition is a joint project between the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the Diocesis of Coimbra (Portugal), the Igreja de Santa Cruz (Coimbra, Portugal) and the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro (Coimbra, Portugal), it will involve more than seventy institutions in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and Morocco and it will be part of the jubilee celebration of the Saint Martyrs of Morocco.

Curatorship
Santiago Macias
Joaquim Oliveira Caetano