• Art & Culture

Open museums in Lombardy: an ode to female talent 

 

As Lombardy enters the yellow zone, many museums, foundations and exhibition spaces are once again opening up to the public.

 

Finally, we can once again admire paintings, sculptures, and other works of art, enjoying the unique feeling of beholding a masterpiece in person.

In the exhibitions that have just reopened in Lombardy, we can trace a shared element: a pink thread, which makes women the protagonists of expositions, monographic exhibitions, and events. Here are the current and upcoming exhibitions taking place in Lombardy that simply can’t be missed!

Remember that museums and all artistic spaces are open to the public from Monday to Friday and closed at the weekend. Booking online (which is required in some cases) is the best way to avoid queues and disappointment. 

 

Female talents in Milan’s reopened museums
Artemisia Gentileschi, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, Fede Galizia, Giovanna Garzoni: these are just some of the artistic protagonists of the exhibition entitled ‘Le Signore dell’Arte. Storie di donne tra ‘500 e ‘600’ (‘The Ladies of Art: Women’s Stories between 1500 and 1600’), which is being held in Palazzo Reale, Milan, from 2 March until June as part of the City of Milan's ‘Female Talents’ programme. An all-female story of fertile and liberal creativity, of unprecedented compositional skills, and talent waiting to be uncovered and admired. 

Let’s remain in Milan but travel to a different era with a visit to the Fabbrica del Vapore and its exhibition ‘Frida Khalo. Il caos dentro’ (‘Frida Kahlo. The Chaos Within’), which is dedicated to the great and inimitable interpreter of Mexican art in the 1900s, and is open until April. An interactive multimedia experience reconstructs the painter’s home, giving visitors a 360 degree immersion into the magical world of the woman and the artist.

Mexico is also evoked in the upcoming exhibition ‘Donne, Messico e libertà’ (‘Women, Mexico and Freedom’), which will be hosted by the Mudec in Milan and is dedicated to Tina Modotti, the Italian photographer, actress, and activist who died in 1942 in Mexico City at the age of just 46. Prints, letters, and videos bear witness to her creativity, free spirit, and social and political engagement. 

Open until June, ‘Carla Accardi. Contesti’ (‘Carla Accardi. Contexts’) is the first monographic exhibition dedicated to the painter from Trapani who disappeared 6 years ago. Works of art, paintings, installations, and models document the dynamic creations of the first Italian abstract artist of international renown.

Winged Victory flies over Brescia once again
Brescia’s Civic Museums will be resuming their activities by offering visitors free admission across all of its locations for the entire month of February, subject to booking. The main protagonist of the reopening is the ‘Vittoria Alata’ (‘Winged Victory’): following its restoration, this extraordinary Roman statue will be exhibited in the setting designed at the Capitolium by Navarro Baldeweg, to whom the exhibition ‘Juan Navarro Baldeweg. Architettura, pittura, scultura’ (‘Juan Navarro Baldeweg. Architecture, Painting, Sculpture’) is dedicated.
 
 

Arriving in Bergamo: Regina, Queen of Sculpture 
The opening of Gamec’s 2021 Museum Year in Bergamo is also dedicated to women. From April, the retrospective ‘Regina. Della scultura’ (‘Regina, Queen of Sculpture’) will host a nuclear collection of works by the 20th-century sculptor from Lombardy, Regina Cassolo Bracchi, which were acquired by the Pompidou Centre in Paris. At the same time, an immersive installation by contemporary Latvian sculptor Daiga Grantina will be hosted by the museum’s Spazio Zero. 

 

Mantua: Palazzo Te celebrates Venus 
Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, inaugurates the 2021 season of the Civic Museums of Palazzo Te and San Sebastiano, in Mantua. With this, the Fondazione Palazzo Te will complete its cycle dedicated to the world of women, which began in 2018. Departing from Aby Warburg’s work on mythology, the programme ‘Venere Divina. Armonia sulla terra’ (‘Divine Venus: Harmony on Earth’) includes the exhibition of a unique masterpiece, a major autumn exhibition, as well as conferences and events. And with the Supercard Cultura 2021, Mantuans can enjoy free entry to the museums on the circuit for just €1 a month.  

 

Other unmissable exhibitions: from Raphael and Tiepolo to Enzo Mari 
Finally, three exhibitions that mustn’t be missed in person. The first is ‘Raffaello. L’invenzione del divino pittore’ (‘Raphael. The Invention of the Divine Painter’), which is being held at the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia until 19 February and features prints in the style of Raphael from the early 1500s to the mid-1800s. The exhibition ‘Tiepolo. Venezia, Milano, l’Europa’ (‘Tiepolo. Venice, Milan, Europe’), hosted by the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan’s Piazza Scala, is being extended until 2 May. Lastly, visitors to the Triennale di Milano can see ‘Enzo Mari curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli’, a show dedicated to the master of design, every Thursday and Friday until 21:30, with the option of a guided tour.

 

 

 

On the same topic

Milan Design

Not just Salone: ​​where design lives
  • Art & Culture
Milan, design beyond the Furniture Fair

Bergamo Alta and its beauties

A historic center remained completely intact and surrounded entirely by walls
  • Art & Culture
A magic place, preserved throughout centuries

The Lombard seigniories: key figures, history and places

Gonzaga, Visconti, Sforza: a journey through cities steeped in history and culture
  • Art & Culture
Gonzaga - Palazzo Ducale Mantova - ph: analisidellopera.it

Theaters Brescia

Brescia will surprise you with the vitality of its theaters, where are staged prose, ballets and concerts
  • Art & Culture
Theaters Brescia, culture in Lombardy

Insider Mantua

  • Art & Culture
Insider Mantua

A day in the life of Leonardo

Art and more: discover a world of intrigue and passions
  • Art & Culture
Castello Sforzesco

The Ghost of Manigunda

In Varese the legend of the ghost of Manigunda to the monastery
  • Art & Culture
Legends of Varese: the Ghost of Manigunda at the Cairate Monastery

Arlecchino and Brighella

Famous masks of the Italian Carnival tradition
  • Art & Culture
Arlecchino_11403_HR©Ciminaghi-PiccoloTeatroMilano

Monument Varese

Stately homes, religious buildings, fortifications and UNESCO treasures among the beauties of Varese and its surroundings
  • Art & Culture
Monument Varese, what to see

Seven art works to discover in Milan

An artistic itinerary through the streets of Milan, discovering works that transform the city into an open-air gallery.
  • Art & Culture
Seven art works to discover in Milan

The sound of Stradivari

Live performances with the instruments of the collections of the Violin’s Museum.
  • Art & Culture
Clarissa Bevilacqua

Monuments Lodi

In the center of Lodi you can see buildings and monuments that are real architectural and decorative jewels
  • Art & Culture
Monuments Lodi, ideas for visiting

16th Olympic Games of Violin-making

4 settembre - 10 ottobre 2021
  • Art & Culture
16th Olympic Games of Violin-making

Legend of the Seven Brothers

An evocative tale of eight brothers, linked to each other, who lived in the Lecco area
  • Art & Culture
Traditions of Lecco: Legend of the Seven Brothers

House Museums of Lombardy: step inside the homes of renowned historical figures

Discover the history and culture of the Region of Lombardy through its historic house museums, from the homes of famous people and art collectors to artists' studios.
  • Art & Culture
Case Museo in Lombardia - Villa Manzoni, Lecco

Itinerary Mincio Po Rivers

A pleasant itinerary to discover the naturalistic and architectural riches of this strip of Lombardy.
  • Art & Culture
Itinerary of Mincio and Po rivers, exploring on two wheels

Bergamo Bassa

In Bergamo the visit starts from the bottom of the town, from its historic villages, and goes on by climbing slowly
  • Art & Culture
Historical places and green areas in Bergamo

Monuments Cremona

Cremona: a splendid city of art with a sober elegance and many monuments, to be visited on foot or by bicycle
  • Art & Culture
Monuments Cremona, visiting Lombardy

The Fourteen Chapels of the Sacro Monte di Varese

  • Art & Culture
The Fourteen Chapels of the Sacro Monte di Varese

Mantua Culture Capital 2016

Mantua city of art, capital of culture
  • Art & Culture
Mantua Culture Capital 2016, discover its wonders