Rome
From March 7 to July 6, 2025, Rome’s Palazzo Barberini is hosting “Caravaggio 2025,” a landmark exhibition celebrating Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Timed with the 2025 Jubilee, this showcase features 24 of Caravaggio’s masterpieces, including the recently rediscovered “Ecce Homo” and the “Portrait of Maffeo Barberini,” on public display for the first time. The exhibition traces Caravaggio’s artistic evolution, highlighting his innovative use of chiaroscuro, a method of using light to make his subjects seem to come alive. He led a short and turbulent life, which included a forced exile from Rome after killing a man in a brawl, but he had a profound impact on Baroque art. Find out more.
Milan
You may have visited the famous Pinacoteca di Brera gallery in Milan on previous trips to Italy but, in December 2024, it unveiled its long-anticipated modern art wing at Palazzo Citterio. This means there are many artworks now displayed for the first time in the Brera, concluding a project which originated over five decades ago. This expansion, part of the “Grande Brera” initiative, showcases significant 20th-century Italian artworks from the Jesi and Vitali collections, featuring artists like Giorgio Morandi and Mario Schifano. The integration of Palazzo Citterio enhances Milan’s cultural landscape, positioning the Brera district as a prominent arts hub and attracting increased visitors to the city. Find out more.
London
The National Gallery in London is hosting “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350,” an exhibition running from March 8 to June 22, 2025. This exhibition showcases the transformative period of 14th-century Sienese art, featuring over 100 works by masters such as Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti brothers. Highlights include panels from Duccio’s Maestà altarpiece and Martini’s Orsini Polyptych. The exhibition illustrates the evolution of religious art in Siena, emphasizing the city’s role as a cultural hub before the Black Death. This collection has been on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and offers a rare opportunity to experience these masterpieces outside Italy. Find out more.
Venice
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition, known as the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025, will be held from May 10 to November 23, 2025. Curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, this edition is themed “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” The exhibition will explore how architecture can adapt to a rapidly changing world by harnessing various forms of intelligence—natural, artificial, and collective. The event will feature contributions from over 750 participants across diverse disciplines, including architects, engineers, climate scientists, and artists. The main venues are the Giardini and Arsenale, with additional installations throughout Venice’s historic center. 66 national pavilions will participate, with Azerbaijan, Oman, Togo and Qatar taking part for the first time. Find out more.