Opening: The Folly of War. A commemorative exhibition dedicated to the first centenary of the Treaties of Locarno 1925
Academy of Architecture Library Mendrisio
Start date: 20 November 2025 / 18:00
End date: 27 March 2026 / 20:00
Biblioteca dell'Accademia di architettura - Mendrisio
The Folly of War. Commemorative exhibition marking the centenary of the Locarno Treaties (1925)
20 November 2025 – 26 March 2026
Curated by Christoph Frank
Graphic design by Alberto Canepa
Academy of Architecture Library
Mendrisio, Via Turconi 25
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.