On March 25, the day on which the Catholic Church celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord, the Museum and Royal Park of Capodimonte presents 'The Bolognese Guest. Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619)' with the Annunciation (1584, oil on canvas, 182.5×221) on loan from the National Gallery of Bologna until June 15. 

In the 'guest' work, visiting from Bologna, the Virgin Mary is depicted reading a prayer book, interrupted by an angel offering her a lily and announcing that God has incarnated in her.
The wooden kneeler, the wicker basket with sewing tools, and the bed on the right, as well as the terracotta floor lines marking the perspective, allude to a miraculous event happening in a sparse environment, resembling a humble dwelling in Bologna at the time. The city towers can also be seen through the open window from which the dove of the Holy Spirit emerges.

With a precise didactic intent and in full harmony with the dictates of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Catholic response to the new Lutheran and Calvinist doctrines, Ludovico Carracci conceived this horizontal altarpiece, originally placed in the headquarters of a religious company and not in a church. 

After the seductive virtuosities of Mannerism, Ludovico interprets the theme in a flat and devout manner, easily understandable, as if to facilitate the identification of the faithful viewer.