Five art and design exhibitions worth a trip this season
Autumn may be the season when Italy is at its most enjoyable: cities breathe again after the summer crowds, the light softens and museums become places where you can take your time once more. If you like to travel with a purpose, an exhibition is the perfect excuse for a weekend away.
We've picked five exhibitions, from Venice to Rome by way of Florence, Milan and Turin, that are truly worth a train ticket between autumn 2026 and winter 2027. For each one you'll find the dates published by the venue, why it's worth the trip and an idea for telling the story of your visit on your Blogness portfolio. Because an exhibition, like a journey, says a lot about who we are.
Venice: Biennale Arte 2026, In Minor Keys
The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled In Minor Keys, is open at the Giardini, the Arsenale and other venues across the city until Sunday 22 November 2026. The curatorial project is by Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025: the Biennale chose to realise it according to her plan, together with her team.
Why it's worth the trip: rather than rigid sections, the exhibition moves through recurring motifs (shrines, processions, enchantment, oases, schools) and invites you to slow down and make room for rest, contemplation and listening, with 110 invited participants. In autumn it opens from 10am to 6pm and is usually closed on Mondays: check the exceptions on the information page and, if you can, give one day to the Giardini and one to the Arsenale.
For your portfolio: choose a "minor key" from your visit, a detail or a quiet corner between one pavilion and the next, and build your story around it.
Florence: Broken. The Power of the Fragment, at Palazzo Strozzi
From 25 September 2026 to 24 January 2027, Palazzo Strozzi devotes a major exhibition to the fragment in the history of sculpture, from archaeology to contemporary art (Italian title: Broken. Il potere del frammento). The project was developed with the National Gallery of Art in Washington and is curated by C.D. Dickerson III and Andrew Sears, in collaboration with Arturo Galansino.
Why it's worth the trip: more than eighty works, with loans from institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre and the British Museum, span the millennia: from ancient Egypt to Michelangelo, from classical Greece to Rodin, and on to Louise Bourgeois, Huma Bhabha, Robert Gober, Francesco Vezzoli and Danh Vo. The fragment becomes an object in its own right, carrying memory and transformation; the show also touches on iconoclasm, war and disasters such as the 1966 Florence flood. A new installation by Mark Manders is planned for the Renaissance courtyard.
For your portfolio: the fragment is a beautiful way to tell your own story. Try a post "in fragments": small details of the city, a stone, a window, a sign, which together make up your portrait of Florence.
Rome: Pontormo at the Scuderie del Quirinale
From 9 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, the Scuderie del Quirinale hosts the first major monographic exhibition devoted to Jacopo Pontormo (1494–1557), the Florentine painter who bridges the High Renaissance and Mannerism. It is curated by Cristina Acidini, with the Uffizi Galleries as partner.
Why it's worth the trip: the starting point is the Visitation, the artist's best-known masterpiece, on loan from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano. Alongside it are paintings and drawings from the Uffizi and international lenders such as the National Gallery in London, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The Scuderie has announced special openings on public holidays: handy if you're thinking of a December trip.
For your portfolio: create a small colour palette inspired by the exhibition and use it as the thread of a mood board about your style or your trip to Rome.
Milan: Luciano Fabro. Inhabiting Space, at Pirelli HangarBicocca
From 8 October 2026 to 21 February 2027, the Navate of Pirelli HangarBicocca host the first museum retrospective in Italy devoted to Luciano Fabro (1936–2007) since his death (Italian title: Abitare lo spazio). It is curated by Fiammetta Griccioli, Roberta Tenconi and Vicente Todolí, in collaboration with Silvia Fabro (Archivio Luciano e Carla Fabro).
Why it's worth the trip: this is the stop closest to design in our selection. Around fifty sculptures and installations trace Fabro's research into how space interacts with the perception of the people who inhabit it: from his mirrored surfaces of the 1960s to large environments, many made of paper, which the artist called "habitats", some of them rebuilt after his death from his design notes. Booking online is recommended.
For your portfolio: tell the story of a space that feels like yours, a room, a corner of your home, a street in your neighbourhood, and pair it with an image from your visit (where photography is allowed). It's a simple way to show how you inhabit the world.
Turin: Letizia Battaglia. Works 1970-2020, at CAMERA
From 17 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, CAMERA – Centro Italiano per la Fotografia presents a major exhibition devoted to Letizia Battaglia, curated by Walter Guadagnini, co-produced with the Jeu de Paume and developed with the Letizia Battaglia Archive. Before Turin, it was shown at the Château de Tours, Les Rencontres d'Arles and the Museo Civico San Domenico in Forlì.
Why it's worth the trip: more than 200 images trace the Sicilian photographer's work, from her pictures of the "Mafia years" in Palermo to everyday Sicily, with its daily hardships, religious festivals, portraits of young people and images from a psychiatric hospital. The exhibition also covers her work for 22 magazines, some of which she founded and edited, and includes a documentary about her life.
For your portfolio: let her gaze guide you and choose a single image from your trip to Turin that tells the story of a person or a moment, not a monument. Then write a few lines on why you chose it.
Before you go
These are the dates published by the venues as of October 2026. Opening hours, special openings and booking arrangements can change, so always check the official page before you travel.
What about you? Which exhibition has stayed with you this year, or which one are you determined not to miss? Share it on your Blogness portfolio: it's a lovely way to show what inspires you.
Sources
Cover photo: Julia Taubitz on Unsplash (Unsplash License).
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