Centuries Old Tapestry – The Meeting of Dante and Virgil – on Display at Mia

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The exhibition, Back from the Underworld: Mia’s Dante Tapestry Restored, also tells the fascinating story of how this fragile work was brought back to life and made safe for display.

Is your fall schedule bursting with activities – Lynx playoffs, Gophers games, coursework, farmers markets, and just too many things to list? Looking for a worthwhile outing that won’t eat up your entire day? Make a quick stop at Mia to view a nearly 500-year-old masterpiece that has finally come out of hiding. After nearly 70 years in storage, The Meeting of Dante and Virgil is back on display, and its 17.4-foot size makes it impossible to miss.

Woven in Florence between 1547 and 1549, this extraordinary Renaissance tapestry is considered the most important Italian Renaissance tapestry in the United States. You don’t need hours to appreciate it – give yourself a little time to stand in front of it, take in the intricate details and imagine the skill and history woven into every thread.

The exhibition, Back from the Underworld: Mia’s Dante Tapestry Restored, also tells the fascinating story of how this fragile work was brought back to life and made safe for display. It’s the kind of museum visit that delivers a lot without requiring a lot of time. If you’re in Minneapolis, it’s well worth making the effort to visit, even if you only have an hour to spare. The tapestry will be on view in Gallery 330 through January 31, 2027.

About the Author

Becky Fillinger
Becky Fillinger
Becky Fillinger has lived in the Twin Cities for the last 20 years. She relocated here to work with her career employer, Thomson Reuters. She received her law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law and applied the education to have a vocation in legal publishing, with assignments in New England, Texas, Florida, Washington DC and finally Minnesota. Becky transitioned to free-lance writing after retiring from the corporate world, but she didn’t abandon what she learned there – strategic relations, marketing and management. Seeing no reason to leave Minnesota, she started writing for the Mill City Times, covering small businesses, nonprofits and noteworthy individuals in downtown Minneapolis, the North Loop and NorthEast Minneapolis. You’ll also find her attending theater, riding her ebike on all of our amazing trails, leading programs at the Chautauqua Institution, screening and discussing WWII movies at her apartment complex and traveling as many times in a year that her budget will allow.

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