Witchcraft has been feared, mocked and romanticized, but rarely has it been fully understood as a story of feminist resistance and enduring cultural power. Witches through time proposes a new perspective on the figure of the witch, exploring the power, persecution and political dimensions of witchcraft across time.
This virtual exhibition brings together artworks, books, documents, photographs and contemporary installations from different periods and geographical contexts, guiding visitors through a long and complex history. From ancient goddesses, healers and mythological sorceresses connected to nature and fertility, the figure of the witch gradually transformed into a symbol of fear and deviance. With the rise of Christianity and the decline of pagan traditions, forms of knowledge associated with women, such as healing, herbal medicine and reproductive care, came to be perceived as dangerous and illegitimate and women who embodied this knowledge were increasingly targeted.
Between the late Middle Age and the early modern period, witch hunts spread across Europe and beyond, resulting in the persecution, torture and execution of tens of thousands of individual, the majority of whom were women. These trials functioned not only as acts of religious repression, but also as tools of social control, reinforcing patriarchal authority and disciplining female autonomy. Although the legal prosecution of witchcraft eventually declined, the cultural legacy of the witch hunts endured, shaping literature, folklore and popular imagination for centuries.
Over time, the witch re-emerged in new forms. In literature and art, she became a figure of fascination and ambivalence; in modern pop culture, she was alternately demonized, sanitized or eroticized. Starting from the late nineteenth century, the term “witch” was progressively reclaimed. No longer a mark of shame, it became a symbol of female power, self-determination and collective memory. Witchcraft started to be considered as a powerful form of feminist and decolonial resistance. In Italy during the 1970s feminist activists, while advocating for the legalization of abortion, proclaimed: “Tremate tremate le streghe son tornate” (Tremble, tremble, the witches have returned).
The works presented in this exhibition echo that declaration. They reveal that witches are no longer only marginal figures of superstition, but active symbols of rebirth, resistance and cultural power. Witches Through Time invites visitors to reshape the archetype of the witch through a feminist lens, posing an open question that extends into the present: when does the witch hunt truly end?
The exhibition unfolds across four rooms, each dedicated to a distinct dimension of the witch. Together, they trace how this figure has been shaped, feared, reimagined and reclaimed across history and artistic expression. Visitors may explore the exhibition through two complementary paths. A chronological route guides the visitor through history, from ancient mythologies to the contemporary era, following a precise timeline. Alternatively, a thematic route, used in the physical exhibition, allows exploration through recurring ideas, rearranging the items in the collection to highlight connections across eras and cultures. Both paths lead to the same works, offering different ways of interpreting the material and inviting visitors to question the popular conception of the witch.
Designed as a virtual museum, Witches Through Time can be visited before, during or independently of the physical exhibition. It invites the audience to navigate freely, linger on individual works and construct a new understanding of the witch as a cultural and political figure.
This exhibition was developed as part of a university project within the Master’s program in Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge at the University of Bologna. Further information on the curatorial approach, design choices and digital development can be found in the project documentation, accessible via the link below.
