Visual and Sound Installation for the 800th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi (1226–2026)

An Immersive Journey

Eight hundred years after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut presents a work that goes beyond commemoration. Light and Dust offers an immersive journey through light, sound, and material, inviting visitors to experience the space in silence.

Designed as a traveling installation, it adapts to Lebanon’s historic sites, including caravanserais, cloisters, ancient ruins, and other places where stone still speaks and time still breathes.

The Installation

In the beautiful gardens of the Bsous Silk Museum, the installation invites visitors to become active participants rather than spectators. They follow a path marked by dust and earth, moving through suspended veils that soften the light. Along the way, fragments of Franciscan writings appear on stone, paper, wood, and ceramic.

A subtle soundscape accompanies the journey. Soft breaths, whispers of wind, stretched strings, and muted heartbeats blend with each visitor’s footsteps. The path leads to a luminous white room, stripped of distractions, where stillness allows for deep listening.

Inspiration

An Italian creative concept inspired the project, while Lebanese craftsmen, musicians, and artisans brought it to life. The installation draws on the austere simplicity of Assisi and La Verna, as well as Giotto’s earthy palette.

Rather than preaching, the work reflects the spirit of Saint Francis. It remains spiritual without belonging to any one confession. It welcomes people of every faith, as well as those who seek meaning through silence.

Francis approached others with humility, openness, and a willingness to encounter different worlds. In a country where the landscape still carries the marks of history, Light and Dust offers a quiet gesture of hope. It reveals the beauty hidden in imperfection, in cracks, and in dust—where the eye may stop, but the heart continues to see.

Credits

Concept and Artistic Direction
Angelo Gioè

Exhibition Curator / Spatial Development
Soula Saad

Project Management and Production Coordination
Dana Michael