Since Italy has over half of the artistic masterpieces in the world, you probably already have a list a mile long of "must-see" artistic treasures. But sometimes there are special shows that are just as unique and unrepeatable, so we hope you can fit one or more of them in!
| Common Places (through May 27 at Museo di Roma, Piazza Navona 2 or Piazza San Pantaleo 10, Rome, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-10pm). Just can't get enough of Rome and its spectacular sites to see? Help is on the way, because this collection of luscious 18th- and early 19th-century watercolors and prints depict the Eternal City in all its shameless glory. Visit at the beginning of your stay, to get an overview of the ancient, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque treasure trove that awaits you. Or pop in just before you leave, to see how many monuments you are able to identify! One of Rome's most picturesque sites is visible through the windows: Piazza Navona itself. | |
| From Vermeer to Kandinsky, Masterpieces from Around the World (through June 3, Castel Sismondo, Rimini, open Monday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-8pm). This breathtaking vast collection of European masterpieces dates from the 16th to 20th centuries and includes works by Tiziano, Veronese, Lotto, Tintoretto, Guercino, Mattia Preti, Guido Reni, Luca Giordano, Del Cairo, Tiepolo, Guardi, Canaletto, Velázquez, Murillo, El Greco, Ribera, Zurbarán, Van Dyck, Ter Brugghen, Van Honthorst, Hogarth, Turner, Constable, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Van Gogh, Manet, Millet, Courbet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Bacon, De Staël, Morandi and oh yes! Kandinsky. |  |
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Tintoretto (through June 10 at Scuderie del Quirinale, Via XXIV Maggio 16, Rome, open Sunday-Thursday 10am-10pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-11:30pm). Believe it or not, there has never been a thorough monographic exhibit of this great Venetian painter's work. Most likely, the culprit has been the monumental size of his canvases. This spectacular show (which is guaranteed to draw large crowds) opens with his self-portrait as a youth lent by the Victoria & Albert Museum of London, and closes with his self-portrait as an old man, which usually resides in the Louvre. In between are countless masterpieces, including a few once-in-a-lifetime chances to compare works side-by-side. |
| Giants of the Avant Guard (through June 10 at ARCA, Piazza San Marco 1, Vercelli, open Monday-Friday 8am-7pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am-8pm). The Peggy Guggenheim Foundation lent 40 works by Miro', Mondrian and Calder to make up this stunning exhibit in the rarely visited area of Piedmont that is otherwise renowned for its arborio rice, the main ingredient of risotto. |  |
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Caravaggio, Courbet, Giacometti & Bacon (through June 17 at MAR, Via di Roma 13, Ravenna, open Tuesday-Thursday 9am-6pm, Friday 9am-9pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-7pm). If you need a break from Byzantine mosaics, stop in to see this eclectic exhibit of works beloved by the Italian art critic Giovanni Testori. The prestigious collection includes masterpieces by Manzù, Matisse, Morlotti, Courbet, Géricault, Gaudenzio Ferrari, Foppa, Savoldo, Romanino, Moretto, Moroni, Ceresa, Fra Galgario, Ceruti, Cerano, Morazzone, Tanzio da Varallo, Daniele Crespi, Cairo, Caravaggio, Dix, Grosz, Radzwill, Fetting, Hodicke, Zimmer, Salomè, Albert, Chevalier, Schindler, Merkens, Bacon, Giacometti, Sutherland, Sironi, Guttuso, Gruber, Marini, Vacchi, Varlin, Jardiel, Vallorz, Rainer, Cucchi and Paladino, among others. |
| Divisionism, Illuminating the Modern (through June 24 at Palazzo Roverella, Via Laurenti 8, Rovigo, open Tuesday-Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-8pm). In the late 19th century, Georges Seurat founded Divisionism, a form of Neo-Impressionist painting defined by separating colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically. This exhibit focuses on the Italian contingent of that school, educating us about a fascinating period that stretched from 1890 to the end of the Great War. If you like Expressionism, this show makes a trip to the Veneto well worth the detour. |  |
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Pier Luigi Nervi, Molecular Architecture (through June 24, Galleria Credito Siciliano, Piazza Duomo 12, Acireale, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-12pm and 5-8pm). Anyone interested in 20th-century architects can name half a dozen masterpieces created by Nervi, one of the century's finest. On display are several of these projects, shown from their conception through to their inauguration, offering a rare opportunity for students to follow the process that turns a master's dream into a reality. |
| Salvador Dali' (March 9-July 1 at the Complesso del Vittoriano, Piazza Venezia, Roma, open Monday-Thursday 9:30am-6:30pm, Friday and Saturday 9:30am-10:30pm, Sunday 9:30am-7:30pm). This exhibit examines the unique Spanish artist as a painter, designer, thinker, writer, scientific researcher, illustrator, goldsmith, filmmaker and set designer. The one thread that holds all these diverse facets together is Italy and the artist's relationship to the country, its history and its great protagonists. After you're done, take the elevator up to the top of the monument to see the best show in town: a 360-degree view of the Eternal City. |  |
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Gustav Klimt and Joseph Hoffman (through July 8 at Museo Correr, San Marco 52, Venice, open daily 10am-7pm). Lovers of extravagance, vivid colors, sensuality and decadence, rejoice! This is our first chance to see many of the Austrian painter's masterpieces together, against the setting of contemporary interiors (often designed by Klimt's best friend Hoffman). Completing the dazzling show is a rich collection of accessories, giving us a rare opportunity to see how art, architecture and applied arts combined and contributed to the genesis of modern art. |
Our list is anything but complete: if you know of other exhibitions or events you think people should hear about, please drop us a line.