Lucia Leuci’s solo exhibition Il vero riconosce il vero (‘Real Recognise Real’) takes its cue from a little-known episode in Fermo’s history: a specific and sometimes remembered event, especially in local circles, concerning the defeat of Fermo’s troops in a battle between Fermo and San Ginesio in 1377. Legend has it that when the Fermo citizens attempted to attack the village of San Ginesio during the night, it was a young woman, a baker awake and at work, who raised the alarm with her cries.

The idea of starting from a dimension of defeat rather than always extolling victories, achievements, honours and acknowledgements may provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the complexity of history and remember that it is not only made up of triumphs but also of difficult moments and downfalls which help shape the identity of the places we live. But not only that: according to Lucia Leuci, interest was certainly stimulated by the peripherality of this episode, the marginal position of the protagonist and the presence of bread – a food with an ancestral significance and recurrent in many of her works and projects.

The figure chosen by the artist as the starting point for the installations in the exhibition is a historical albeit little-known woman. A sort of ‘baker’s daughter’ – less disturbing than Raphael’s, but just as fascinating in terms of her authenticity. She was a local baker whose cries of alarm saved her town. From an almost forgotten episode in the town’s history emerges the determination of the female figure, whom Lucia Leuci considers to be endowed with character and a strength of spirit that is not commonly found in the male. This imagery lies at the heart of the intervention designed by the artist, intertwined with aspects related to the historical and architectural context of the city, such as its streets: ancient, worn, much-travelled and dirty, yet rich in formalism that the artist has managed to translate into images.

The observation of marginality, understood in its historical, social and architectural-urban aspects, has often been used by the artist to develop intensely visionary projects. Elements of everyday life, seemingly simple and easily overlooked, are transformed into figures and landscapes charged with strong emotional tension.

Il vero riconosce il vero is a quote from the world of hip hop, recalling an ethos rooted in the language of the street and urban culture, placing it as the key to the entire exhibition. This title thus embodies the principle that only those who are authentic can truly understand and appreciate the authenticity of others – a message that also finds resonance in contemporary cultural and artistic dynamics.

The exhibition will be set up in those spaces that are still accessible of the ancient church of San Martino, a twelfth-century building that once gave its name to what is now Piazza del Popolo. Its remains are preserved inside Palazzo dei Priori, built on top of the church in the late thirteenth century.