Events and exhibitions not to be missed in March 2025 in Italy

With the days getting longer and spring approaching, March 2025 is set to offer a rich calendar of cultural events across Italy. From major art exhibitions to music festivals, the country comes alive with unmissable events for culture and entertainment enthusiasts. Here’s a selection of the must-see events and exhibitions—there’s no shortage of choices!

If you love Art Nouveau, the timeless beauty of feminine figures, and decorative elegance, the Alphonse Mucha exhibition at Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara will be an unmissable experience. Running from March 22 to July 20, 2025, the exhibition will feature a selection of posters, paintings, and drawings that showcase the unmistakable style of the Czech artist, renowned for his graceful female figures and intricate floral decorations.

Mucha was not just an artist but an icon who defined an era. His posters made actresses like Sarah Bernhardt famous and transformed advertising into an art form. This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to view original sketches, paintings, and prints, allowing you to immerse yourself in the captivating details of his distinctive style. You will also discover some of his lesser-known paintings, preparatory drawings, and studies that highlight his artistic talent in various forms. The exhibition provides a close-up view of his masterful use of color, soft lines, and natural elements, which became defining characteristics of his style.

Opening hours: The exhibition will be open daily from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Additionally, on Saturday, July 20, the closing time will be extended to 11:30 PM.

From March 1 to June 29, 2025, the Mastio della Cittadella in Turin will host an extraordinary exhibition dedicated to Paul Gauguin. The exhibition retraces the French artist’s journey to Tahiti through a selection of paintings, woodcuts, and drawings inspired by his famous Noa Noa Diary. These works illustrate Gauguin’s quest for a primitive and authentic art, far from the constraints of Western society. This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in his exotic and visionary world.

This collection of texts and images reflects his fascination with Polynesian culture, myths, and landscapes, offering insight into his artistic and personal transformations. Alongside these works, visitors will also discover pieces from other key moments in his career, showcasing his distinctive use of color, symbolism, and emotional depth.

Opening hours: Monday: Closed

Tuesday – Friday: 9:30 AM – 6:30 PM

Saturday – Sunday: 9:30 AM – 7:30 PM

Starting from March 8, 2025, Pistoia will host an extraordinary exhibition dedicated to Daniel Buren, one of the most influential contemporary artists in the world. Known for his iconic use of alternating vertical stripes and site-specific installations, Buren will transform the city's urban and museum spaces with interventions designed specifically for the Pistoia context.

Buren has always explored the relationship between art and its surrounding environment. For Pistoia, the French artist will create installations that interact with the city’s historic architecture, museums, and open spaces. This will offer visitors an immersive experience where art becomes an integral part of the urban landscape, inviting reflection on visual perception and space.

Where to see Buren’s works in Pistoia

Although official details on exhibition locations are not yet confirmed, key sites likely to feature his work include:

Piazza del Duomo and the historic center, transformed with colorful overlays, transparency effects, and new perspectives.

Palazzo Fabroni – Museum of 20th and Contemporary Art, a frequent venue for contemporary exhibitions.

Repurposed industrial areas, in line with Buren’s tendency to engage in a dialogue between past and present through art.

The Impact of the Exhibition

This exhibition will not only be an opportunity to admire Daniel Buren’s work but also a chance to rediscover Pistoia from a new perspective, experiencing the city as an evolving work of art.

Until July 20, 2025, Palazzo Strozzi in Florence will host the first major solo exhibition in Italy of Tracey Emin, one of the most iconic and controversial artists on the contemporary scene. Known for her deeply autobiographical approach, Emin has developed an artistic language that explores themes such as love, loss, desire, and human vulnerability.

The Florence exhibition brings together a curated selection of works spanning painting, sculpture, drawing, neon art, and installations, offering visitors an intimate exploration of Emin’s emotional world.

A dialogue between body and emotion

Tracey Emin has always investigated the connection between the body and the psyche, between pain and desire, using art as a medium to process trauma and personal transformation. Her works, often marked by a raw and expressive style, includen eon text pieces featuring poetic and provocative messages, gesture-driven paintings charged with emotional intensity, sculptures that reveal her profound artistic and human sensitivity.

This powerful and deeply personal exhibition invites visitors to engage with Emin’s artistic vision, where intimacy and vulnerability become a universal language.

An Immersive Journey Through Her Artistic Universe

The Florence exhibition brings together a curated selection of works spanning painting, sculpture, drawing, neon art, and installations, offering visitors an intimate exploration of Emin’s emotional world.

A Dialogue Between Body and Emotion

Tracey Emin has always investigated the connection between the body and the psyche, between pain and desire, using art as a medium to process trauma and personal transformation. Her works, often marked by a raw and expressive style, include:

Neon text pieces featuring poetic and provocative messages

Gesture-driven paintings charged with emotional intensity

Sculptures that reveal her profound artistic and human sensitivity

This powerful and deeply personal exhibition invites visitors to engage with Emin’s artistic vision, where intimacy and vulnerability become a universal language.

Until May 18, 2025, Palazzo Reale in Milan will celebrate the talent of George Hoyningen-Huene, a master of 20th-century fashion photography, with a major exhibition featuring over 100 works, including iconic photographs and personal objects belonging to the artist. The exhibition traces the evolution of his distinctive style, characterized by refined aesthetics, sculptural light effects, and an innovative vision of fashion photography.

The exhibition at Palazzo Reale is structured into several thematic sections, highlighting the many facets of Hoyningen-Huene’s work:

The golden age of fashion – A journey through his collaborations with French fashion houses, featuring sophisticated images of models dressed by the most renowned maisons of the 1920s and 1930s.

The precision of composition – His photographs are crafted with almost sculptural attention to pose and lighting, influenced by his passion for classical art and cinema.

Portraits of celebrities – Iconic shots of Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, and Katharine Hepburn, captured with his timeless and elegant style.

Personal objects and documents – Letters, notes, and creative tools that offer insight into his artistic process and working methods.

This exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore the legacy of a visionary artist who revolutionized fashion photography with elegance, precision, and an unparalleled sense of composition.

From March 21 to May 4, 2025, Naples will host The World of Banksy, an immersive exhibition dedicated to the famous and enigmatic British street artist. The event will take place at the Arena Flegrea Indoor, offering visitors a unique journey through Banksy’s most iconic works, known for their sharp social critique and unmistakable style.

Banksy is one of the most influential and controversial contemporary artists. His works, which have appeared on walls in cities around the world, address themes such as war, consumerism, politics, surveillance, and freedom of expression, often infused with irony and provocative messages.

This exhibition provides an opportunity to explore Banksy’s artistic and cultural impact through a collection of faithfully reproduced murals, prints, multimedia installations, and interactive experiences.

Among the most iconic works on display, visitors can admire:

"Girl with a Balloon" – One of the artist’s most famous pieces, a symbol of hope and fragility.

"Flower Thrower" – The legendary image of a masked man throwing a bouquet of flowers, an emblem of peaceful resistance.

"There is Always Hope" – A thought-provoking invitation to hope and social reflection.

"Rage, the Flower Thrower" and other works tackling themes of war and peace.

This immersive exhibition offers a rare chance to step into the world of Banksy and experience the provocative, satirical, and deeply impactful nature of his art.

From March 8 to July 6, 2025, "Palazzo Pitti" in Florence will host Being a Woman: The Body as a Tool of Creation and an Act of Rebellion, an innovative and thought-provoking exhibition exploring the role of the female body in art as both a medium of creation and a symbol of resistance.

The exhibition brings together works by renowned international and contemporary female artists who have challenged societal norms and redefined the representation of the female body. Through painting, photography, video art, sculpture, and performance, the show examines themes such as:

Body and identity – The role of the female body in self-expression and personal transformation.

Rebellion and protest – How artists have used their bodies to challenge gender norms, stereotypes, and oppression.

The politics of the body – A reflection on the female experience in contemporary society, from empowerment to vulnerability.

Art as resistance – Works that explore the intersection of feminism, activism, and artistic expression.

Until  September 7, 2025, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, MAMbo is hosting a major group exhibition titled Easy Irony, exploring the role of irony in Italian art from the 1950s to the present day. Curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Caterina Molteni, the exhibition features over 100 works and documents from more than 70 artists, offering a journey through satire, paradox, and humor in the history of contemporary Italian art.

Irony takes shape in the visual experimentation of Bruno Munari, the provocative works of Piero Manzoni, the political reflections of Michelangelo Pistoletto and Piero Gilardi; gender stereotype critiques by Tomaso Binga and Mirella Bentivoglio; linguistic absurdity in the works of Adriano Spatola and Giulia Niccolai.

Art becomes a weapon to expose social contradictions, with works by Maurizio Cattelan, Paola Pivi, Francesco Vezzoli, and Chiara Fumai, demonstrating how irony can serve as both resistance and social critique.

This fascinating journey invites the audience to reflect on how artistic language engages with paradox and sarcasm, providing a sharp and ironic lens on contemporary reality.