Winter doesn’t put Italian art on hold: the cold season in major museums and exhibition spaces
becomes an ideal time to discover masterpieces, monographic exhibitions and cultural routes that
they span centuries of history and expressive languages. With cities like Rome, Milan, Turin, Brescia,
Ferrara and Bologna are the protagonists of a rich and diverse calendar, art becomes an invitation to the
slow and reflective journey, away from seasonal flows. Here is a thoughtful guide to the exhibitions and
to places to visit in the coming months, with a particular focus on active or early-stage exhibitions
in Italian museums.
Milan, from Liberty to major international exhibitions
Milan, a city symbol of modernity and culture, inaugurates 2026 with a wide exhibition offering and
stimulating. Among the appointments to mark in your diary:
“Liberty. The Art of Modern Italy” at Palazzo Martinengo (Brescia), from January 24th to June 14th
2026, dedicated to the Art Nouveau movement that marked the transition between the 19th and 20th centuries.
In Milan, in the city’s civic offices and museums, it is possible to consult a calendar of exhibitions
open throughout 2026, featuring art, design, and innovation.
In the city you can also explore exhibitions such as Nan Goldin “This Will Not End Well” at Pirelli
HangarBicocca (until February 15, 2026) or contemporary installations at the Dep Art Gallery
(until January).
Milan thus confirms itself as a hub where tradition and experimentation interact naturally.
Rome, Old Masters and Modern Visions
The Capital offers an exhibition itinerary capable of crossing different eras and languages. Between
the exhibitions underway in January:
At Palazzo Barberini, the path dedicated to Bernini and the Barberini family restores the monumentality of the
Baroque and its profound relationship with Roman history.
At the Ara Pacis Museum, the exhibition “Impressionism and Beyond” features masterpieces by artists such as
Renoir, Cézanne and Picasso, offering an immersive experience at the heart of artistic revolutions
of the 19th and 20th centuries.
For fans of modern and twentieth-century art, other exhibitions in the city explore languages
of the imagination and stories of the contemporary.
Rome in winter is a city where art is discovered calmly, without the rush of the tourist seasons
top-of-the-line.
Turin, a bustling exhibition scene
Turin confirms its cultural vocation with a series of exhibitions ranging from history
ancient to the contemporary. The main museum institutions – including Palazzo Madama, GAM and
civic seats – propose thematic itineraries and multidisciplinary exhibitions, making the capital
Savoy is an essential stop for art enthusiasts in winter.
Ferrara and Bologna: Masterpieces and Collections to Discover
In the fascinating frames of art cities like Ferrara, the exhibition “Marc Chagall. Witness of the
his time” (until ’8 February 2026) hosts over 200 works by the great master of the avant-garde
international, between immersive rooms and poetic visual narratives.
In Bologna, Palazzo Pallavicini recently hosted “Visions and Faces,” an exhibition that
puts the Renaissance in dialogue with Neoclassicism, offering an overview of history painting
of great refinement.
An opportunity for deeper cultural tourism
Visiting museums and exhibitions in winter means accessing a more meditated pace, where the encounter with
the work is not conditioned by the crowd, but can become an opportunity for reflection, discovery and dialogue
staff with art.
Italian art, in all its declinations – from Baroque to contemporary photography,
from Impressionism to monographic reviews – tells stories of humanity, innovation, vision
and beauty. And it is precisely in the cold season that these stories find the space to talk with
greater intensity.
Selected Calendar (January–March 2026)
City Exhibition Museum / Location Period
Brescia Liberty. The Art of Modern Italy, Palazzo Martinengo, January 24 – June 14, 2026
Milan Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well Pirelli HangarBicocca Until February 15, 2026
Rome Bernini and the Barberinis Palazzo Barberini January 2026
Rome Impressionism and Beyond Ara Pacis January 2026
Ferrara Marc Chagall. Witness of his time Palazzo dei Diamanti Until ’ February 8, 2026
Turin Exhibitions underway at various GAM museums, Palazzo Madama, etc. January 2026
Bologna Visions and Faces Palazzo Pallavicini Until January 6, 2026
In an era when tourism often rushes in search of “ungrammable moments” and crowded destinations,
Winter reminds us of the authentic value of art as a slow, immersive experience,
deeply human. Visiting an exhibition in January or February means slowing down to
listen to works, to confront stories that span centuries, to understand one’s own
time through the voice of one who created beauty.
Winter art is not a fallback: it is the season in which culture reveals itself in its most intense form,
personal and memorable. And Italy, with its network of museums –from Milan to Palermo – offers a
schedule that has no equal in the world for quality, variety and depth of vision.