Contemporary Art in Florence

Art & Culture

The city of the Renaissance offers, for those who are passionate about contemporary art, a series of unexpected opportunities! Let's start with the Museo Novecento, in the former Leopoldine complex in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, which houses an interesting permanent collection on the art of the 20th century, from Futurism to the present day and also exhibitions and installations of contemporary art by many important artists. Our itinerary should also include the Marino Marini Museum, dedicated to one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century and located in the former Church of S. Pancrazio, the Roberto Casamonti Collection, inaugurated in 2018 in the historic Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, and the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, which combines fashion and contemporary art.

For some years now, the municipal administration has been encouraging a dialogue between the great protagonists of contemporary art and the works of the 16th century in the city's museums, gardens and squares, for a new concept. The famous Piazza della Signoria has already served as a stage for important artists such as Jeff Koons, Jan Fabre, Urs Fischer, while recently Lorenzo Quinn exhibited his hands at the Boboli Gardens and Liu Ruowang staged his wolves in the city's central squares. An exceptional location is Forte Belvedere, which has reopened its doors a few years ago and every summer presents internationally renowned contemporary sculptors, painters and photographers to the public!

We must also mention Le Murate Art District (MAD), the PARC project and the Manifattura Tabacchi, centres of artistic production and entertainment sponsored by the Municipality, where exhibitions, meetings, performances and workshops focused on contemporary artistic themes and languages are organised.

The city also boasts a number of private galleries dedicated to contemporary art and emerging artists. In some streets, such as: Via Maggio, Piazza Goldoni and in the San Niccolò district it is possible to find more than one, but they are located all over the city and often display the works of international artists.

Explore below the places that offer us the show of contemporary art!

Photo credit

Comune di Firenze

Quick info

Municipalities

Firenze

Stages

The places

See the route on Google Maps

Stages

Museo Novecento

Equipped with multimedia devices, the Museo Novecento was recently inaugurated. The exhibition starts from the art of the 1990s back to the beginning of the century suggesting the visitors the history of that unrepeatable artistic season of which Florence was the key point. The collection includes more than 300 works of artists such as De Chirico, Morandi, Rosai, Sironi, Casorati, De Pisis, Fontana, Vedova e Magnelli. In addition to this, temporary exhibitions focused on contemporary art are regularly organized by the director Sergio Risaliti.

Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, 10, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia

http://www.museonovecento.it/en

Museo Marino Marini

The Museum is dedicated to one of the most famous sculptors of the XX° Century and located in the former Church of S. Pancrazio. The collection includes sculptures in bronze and cement, polychrome plasters and canvases, portraits and drawings. Exhibitions of work by 20th-century and contemporary artists are held periodically in the crypt.

Piazza di S. Pancrazio, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia

https://museomarinomarini.it/en/

Palazzo Strozzi

Built around the original Renaissance courtyard, Palazzo Strozzi is a key cultural hub in the city that sees more than two million people pass through it every year, and hosts concerts, performances, installations. Creating a lively dialogue between the old and the new, Palazzo Strozzi’s exhibitions range from acclaimed historical surveys of old masters to exhibitions with leading contemporary artists including Ai Weiwei, Carsten Höller and Marina Abramović.

Piazza degli Strozzi, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia

https://www.palazzostrozzi.org/en

Murate Art District (MAD)

MAD is a cultural district, a creation and residency space dedicated to contemporary artistic languages in a transdisciplinary approach, open to artists of all ages and backgrounds.

Piazza delle Murate, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia

https://www.murateartdistrict.it/en/

Forte di Belvedere

The Forte Belvedere reopened its doors a few years ago. Every year, in summer, contemporary sculptors, painters and photographers are exhibited in the fortress and in its beautiful park.

Via di S. Leonardo, 1, 50125 Firenze FI, Italia

http://musefirenze.it/en/attivita/

Manifattura Tabacchi

The new Manifattura Tabacchi was born from the old tobacco factory, active for over seventy years before its closure in 2001. The ambitious regeneration project aims at bringing a new district of the city to life, giving it the creative energy of fashion, art and design, open to all and connected to the wider world: a new contemporary destination in Florence.

Via delle Cascine, 33/35, 50144 Firenze FI, Italia

https://www.manifatturatabacchi.com/en/

PARC

PARC is a new space opened to the city and managed by Fabbrica Europa under concession from the municipality of Florence: it is a Performing Arts Research Centre (PARC) born to experience new languages and ideas and promote the contemporary creation, the research, the learning and the connection with the territory, the Cascine Park first, where the centre is located. The activities include workshops, masterclasses, performances, dance and theatre projects, multimedia productions, and is carried on in synergy with other partners in a global dimension.

Piazzale delle Cascine, 7, 50144 Firenze FI, Italia

https://parcfirenze.net/

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

Contemporary Art and fashion are perfectly mixed in the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, born from the famous brand of shoes. The collection speaks a universal language where culture, creativity and handcraftsmanship combine with innovation and technology and succeeds in putting together tradition and contemporaneity.

Piazza di Santa Trinita, 5R, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia

https://www.ferragamo.com/museo/en/usa/

Collezione Roberto Casamonti

Roberto Casamonti, the Florentine art collector, has inaugurated his museum of contemporary art in 2018, on the first floor of Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni. During the first year, the exhibition spanned from the early 1900s to the 1960s, now visitors can admire paintings from the sixties to today: from Boetti to Schifano, from Mirò to Basquiat, and then Penone, Pistoletto, Christo, Abramovic and many others.

Piazza di Santa Trinita, 1, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia

https://collezionerobertocasamonti.com/?page_id=175

Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci

Not far from Florence, in the city of Prato, fans of contemporary art may visit the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, the first Italian Institution created from the outset with the aim of presenting, collecting, documenting and supporting research in the visual arts, cinema, music, performing arts, architecture, design, fashion and literature, as expressions of the contemporary world that put people in touch with the major themes of life and our society.

Viale della Repubblica, 277, 59100 Prato PO, Italia

https://www.centropecci.it/en