Zaragoza aims to be at the center of the international commemoration of the bicentennial of Francisco de Goya’s death. The city will host a major immersive exhibition in 2028, organized in collaboration with the Prado National Museum. This project will transform La Lonja into a state-of-the-art exhibition space to bring the life and work of the Aragonese artist closer to audiences of all ages using immersive technologies.
The announcement, made during the State of the City Debate, is part of a cultural strategy aimed at establishing Zaragoza as a key city for exploring Goya’s legacy and enhancing its national and international tourist and cultural appeal.
A New Way to Discover Goya
The upcoming exhibition will combine resources such as 360-degree videomapping, immersive soundscapes, and virtual reality experiences to provide a journey through the different vital and creative stages of the painter.
Beyond the technological component, the project aims to help visitors understand Goya’s artistic evolution and the relevance of his work, using a contemporary exhibition language while maintaining historical and museographic rigor.
The journey will begin with the earliest works of the artist created in Zaragoza and lead visitors to the period of the Black Paintings, showcasing how his perspective on society continues to resonate surprisingly two centuries later.
A Top-Level Precursor in 2027
Before the inauguration of the immersive experience, Zaragoza will host the exhibition «Two Hundred Years with Goya» from April to August 2027, conceived as one of the major cultural events leading up to the bicentennial.
The exhibition will bring together nearly one hundred works from more than 60 national and international institutions and collections, with the Prado Museum as the main lender.
Among the highlighted pieces will be several works never before exhibited in Zaragoza, including the return of «The Colossus», which will be displayed in the city for the first time since 1996.
The tour will allow visitors to discover not only Goya’s production but also the influence his legacy has had on later generations of artists such as Picasso, Manet, Fortuny, Solana, Zuloaga, Saura, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as his presence in disciplines such as photography, literature, music, film, and popular culture.
Culture as a Driver of International Projection
Collaboration with the Prado Museum reinforces Zaragoza’s positioning as a cultural destination and demonstrates the city’s growing capacity to host large-scale exhibition projects.
The City Council intends for the bicentennial celebration to go beyond a one-time commemorative program and to contribute to a permanent legacy through new spaces, cultural activities, and tourism proposals linked to the artist’s figure.
The strategy also includes the celebration of the first Zaragoza Art Fair, a contemporary art fair that will take place from November 12 to 15 in various municipal cultural spaces, expanding the city’s artistic offerings.
A Moment of Growth for Cultural Offerings
The focus on Goya coincides with a peak moment for the city’s municipal museums. In 2025, the museums and exhibition halls of the City Council surpassed 700,000 visitors for the first time, setting a historic record.
La Lonja established itself as one of Zaragoza’s main cultural spaces, nearing 200,000 visitors, while the museums along the Caesaraugusta Route and the Center of Histories continued to increase their audiences.
With this programming, Zaragoza seeks to leverage the bicentennial of Goya to strengthen its cultural identity, attract visitors, and internationally project the figure of the most universal artist born in Aragon.
