The folly of War. Exhibition at the Academy Library

The folly of War.
Commemorative exhibition marking the centenary of the Locarno Treaties (1925)

Curated by Christoph Frank
Graphic design by Alberto Canepa

20 November 2025 – 26 March 2026

Opening: Thursday, 20 November 2025, 6 pm
On the occasion of the centenary of the Locarno Treaties (26 October 1925), the exhibition The Folly of War explores the themes of war, peace, humanity, and freedom — values that, over the centuries, have found fertile ground for reflection within the Swiss Confederation.
The exhibition traces more than five hundred years of pacifist thought, from Erasmus of Rotterdam to the events of Locarno in 1925, and presents artistic responses that emerged from that historic moment.
Original documents of great value invite visitors to reflect on how knowledge — preserved and cultivated within libraries — becomes, over time, a living matrix of memory and contemporary dialogue.

To complete this overview, it is worth recalling that on 11 August, in conjunction with "Diplomacy Day", Professor Christoph Frank dedicated a public lecture to the centenary of the Spirit of Locarno, in which he retraced the role of the Locarno Film Festival and cultural institutions as places of dialogue, mediation, and shared memory. In his talk, he highlighted the universal power of images — from cinema to the work of Aby Warburg — and the significance of the 1925 Treaties as a courageous attempt to replace weapons with reason, diplomacy, and mutual trust. It was an invitation, still relevant today, to continually renew that commitment to peace and cultural responsibility that the exhibition seeks to celebrate.

Attached you will find the full text of Professor Christoph Frank’s lecture.

Academy of Architecture Library
Mendrisio, Via Turconi 25