Austrian dealer Thaddaeus Ropac opened a new gallery in Milan on September 20, capitalizing on Italy's newly reduced 5% VAT on art imports—the lowest in the EU—and an influx of wealthy expats from London following the UK's abolition of non-dom tax status. The gallery occupies the first floor of the historic Palazzo Belgioioso, with Elena Bonanno di Linguaglossa appointed as director. Ropac's move follows his earlier successful expansions into Seoul and Pantin, which proved prescient.
Ropac's bet on Milan matters because it signals a potential shift in the European art market's center of gravity, as tax incentives and collector migration could revitalize Italy's art scene. Milan already hosts major collector-founded museums by Miuccia Prada, Luigi Rovati, and Marco Tronchetti Provera, and Ropac aims to tap into a sophisticated but under-the-radar collector base. The reduced VAT may further stimulate the local market, encouraging more contemporary art collecting in a region historically focused on older works.