The great antique fair of Assisi has half a century of history. The interview

La grande fiera dell’antiquariato di Assisi ha mezzo secolo di storia. L’intervista

AMAB – Assisi Mostra Arte Antiquariato Bastia Umbra, the antique fair founded in Assisi in 1973 and moved to the Umbria Fiere exhibition center in 1989, celebrated its 50th edition in 2025 and will reopen from April 24 to May 3, 2026. The 10-day event features 90 exhibitors and includes special exhibitions marking the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi (at Palazzo Collicola in Spoleto and the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia) and the centenary of the birth of artist Giorgio Ascani, known as Nuvolo, curated by Bruno Corà, as well as a project on costume designer Tita Tegano with costumes from the Renato Bruson collection. Director Emo Antinori Petrini, son of founder Mario, discusses the fair's evolution, its commitment to quality, and its new focus on contemporary art installations and performances.

The legendary film "Novecento" by Bertolucci in his Parma becomes a major exhibition

Il mitico film “Novecento” di Bertolucci nella sua Parma diventa una grande mostra

A major exhibition titled "Bernardo Bertolucci. Il Novecento" has opened at the Palazzo del Governatore in Parma, Italy, marking the 50th anniversary of Bertolucci's epic film "Novecento" (1976). The show is structured as a visual experience across 25 rooms and four sections, exploring the film's dialectic between collective history and intimate gaze. It features video, drawings, photographs, production materials, and artworks by artists such as Franco Angeli, Renato Guttuso, Taner Ceylan, and Mario Schifano, all drawn from private collections. The exhibition's first room sets the tone with a video juxtaposing the film's opening credits over Pellizza da Volpedo's painting "Il Quarto Stato" and a close-up of the young Olmo holding a frog, encapsulating the tension between political epic and sensory detail.

Andrea Pazienza is alive! A major exhibition opening at MAXXI shouts it

Andrea Pazienza è vivo! Lo urla una importante mostra in apertura al MAXXI

The MAXXI museum in Rome is opening a major exhibition titled "Non sempre si muore" dedicated to Andrea Pazienza, the legendary Italian underground comic artist. Curated by Giulia Ferracci and Oscar Glioti, the show opens on April 24, 2026, and runs until September 27, 2026. It features over 500 original drawings, including a monumental mural Pazienza created live at the 1987 Fiera del Fumetto in Naples, recently restored by the museum. The exhibition is the second chapter of a larger research project by MAXXI, following the earlier show "La matematica del segno" at MAXXI L'Aquila, which focused on Pazienza's formative years. The title quotes a phrase Pazienza said in 1988 to British host Clive Griffiths shortly before his death, underscoring the enduring vitality of his work.

The Dragon's Coils, the Flower and the Cloud. The Museo del Tappeto Antico of Brescia Looks to China

Le spire del drago, il fiore e la nuvola. Il Museo del Tappeto Antico di Brescia guarda alla Cina

The Museo Internazionale del Tappeto Antico (MITA) in Brescia, Italy, has opened a new exhibition titled "Le trame del dragone. Tappeti cinesi delle dinastie imperiali" (The Dragon's Wefts: Chinese Carpets of the Imperial Dynasties). The show presents around forty antique Chinese carpets from the MITA collection, the world's most important private collection of antique rugs, assembled by Romain Zaleski and housed in a glass cube designed by OBR. Curated by Giovanni Valagussa, the exhibition traces the history of Chinese carpet-making from the 15th to the 19th century, highlighting two main typologies: red-ground rugs from the Xinjiang region with geometric and floral motifs, and gold-and-blue rugs from the Ming and Qing capitals featuring dragon and auspicious symbols. The exhibition is free and runs until June.

Latefa Wiersch “Atlas Studios“ at Istituto Svizzero, Rome

Istituto Svizzero in Rome presents "Atlas Studios," the first solo exhibition in Italy by Swiss-based artist Latefa Wiersch. The show is specifically designed for the spaces of Villa Maraini and evokes the famous Atlas Studios film sets located on the edge of the Moroccan desert, which have been used by international film productions.

Barber and Osgerby: The Best of London Design Arrives in Exhibition in Milan

Barber e Osgerby: il meglio del design londinese arriva in mostra a Milano

Designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have opened a major exhibition, 'Edward Barber | Jay Osgerby. Alphabet,' at the Triennale di Milano. The show presents a chronological survey of their work from the mid-1990s to 2022, featuring furniture, objects, and prototypes displayed on large plinths, alongside an archival section revealing their creative process.

Language Games in a Haunted Present.

Ndéyé Kouagou has opened her first solo exhibition in Italy at Collezione Maramotti, presented in conjunction with the Fotografia Europea 2026 festival. The exhibition, titled 'Ghosts of the Moment', features recent works and new commissions that showcase her language-driven practice, blending text, performance, and image to explore unstable meaning and contemporary subjectivity.

MiC initiates cultural bridge between Italy and Mozambique on contemporary art

On April 20, 2026, the Italy-Mozambique project "A Bridge Made in Art" launched in Maputo, Mozambique, running until June 2027. Sponsored by Italy's Ministry of Culture and the National Museums of Perugia, the initiative includes workshops, exhibitions, and training in contemporary art, involving Mozambican institutions such as Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Fundação Leite Couto, and Núcleo de Arte. The program is part of the Mattei Plan for Africa, aiming to redefine Italy-Africa relations through cultural cooperation.

The Kenyan artist who was a revelation at the last Biennale is on show at Masaccio's house in Tuscany

L’artista del Kenya rivelazione all’ultima Biennale è in mostra alla casa di Masaccio in Toscana

Kenyan artist Agnes Waruguru, a breakout star of the most recent Venice Biennale, is presenting her first solo museum exhibition in Italy. Titled 'From What We Are,' the show is curated by Alessandro Romanini and is on view at the Centro per le arti contemporanee Casa Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno, Tuscany.

What are these 'art clubs' that Alessandro Benetton is opening around Italy? The story.

Cosa sono questi “art club” che Alessandro Benetton sta aprendo in giro per l’Italia? Il racconto

21Art, a company founded by Alessandro Benetton based on a project by entrepreneur Davide Vanin, is expanding its network of gallery spaces and affiliated 'Art Clubs' across Italy and into Monaco. This spring, a new location in Montecarlo will join existing galleries in Rome, Padua, and Treviso, with plans for further openings in Milan, Cortina, and Jesolo by 2027. The expansion is accompanied by a spring 2026 exhibition program featuring shows by Mario Ceroli in Treviso, Ahmet Güneştekin in Rome, and Jan Fabre in Montecarlo.

Alex Thake “I Know This Much is True” at Triangolo, Cremona

Alex Thake presents a solo exhibition titled "I Know This Much is True" at Triangolo gallery in Cremona. The show features new works by the artist, continuing his exploration of material and conceptual themes.

For Italy’s Art Pioneer, a New Bronze Age

Giuseppe Penone, a leading figure of the Arte Povera movement, is preparing a major exhibition at Gagosian gallery in New York. The show will feature new bronze sculptures that continue his lifelong exploration of nature, form, and the human body, created in collaboration with curator Adam Weinberg, the former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

miart’s Three-Tier Experiment Reflects a Changing Milan

The 30th edition of the miart art fair in Milan took place from April 17-19 at a new venue, the Allianz MiCo conference hall. The fair introduced a disruptive three-tiered layout across three floors, dividing its offerings into Emergent and Established sections, and featured a mix of early 20th-century modern masters and contemporary works, distinguishing it from Italy's other major fair, Artissima.

What if the Polaroid had existed in Biblical times? Photographer Mishka Henner asks this in a show in Modena

E se la Polaroid fosse esistita ai tempi della Bibbia? Se lo chiede il fotografo Mishka Henner in mostra a Modena

Belgian photographer Mishka Henner has opened his first solo exhibition in Italy, titled 'Seeing Is Believing,' at Palazzo Santa Margherita in Modena, presented by the Fondazione Ago. The show features 25 new works that explore the nature of photography in the age of artificial intelligence, including AI-generated images of biblical scenes presented as if they were historical Polaroids.

Amid Urban Spaces, Alex Senna’s Bold Murals Embrace Connection and Belonging

Brazilian artist Alex Senna creates large-scale, black-and-white murals that depict figures gathering, interacting, and connecting with their own shadows. His work, often set against colorful urban backdrops, emphasizes themes of community, emotional bonds, togetherness, and belonging.