Pastificio Cerere

Lonely Planet review

It might be an icon of modern Italian art, but Pastificio Cerere started life as a giant pasta factory in 1905. Abandoned in 1960, its empty loft spaces would eventually draw six emerging artists - Nunzio, Giuseppe Gallo, Piero Pizzi Cannella, Gianni Dessì, Marco Tirelli and Bruno Ceccobbelli. Dubbed the Nuova Scuola Romana (New Roman School), they took the nation's art scene by storm in the early 1980s, rebelling against mainstream minimalism with a revival of old-school techniques mixed with new-school edge.

Now, a new generation of artists is pushing boundaries inside this industrial monolith, including Maurizio Savini, famed for his mind-blowing bubble-gum sculptures. To explore the studios, email a request (from the website) to Fondazione del Pastificio Cerere, specifying which artists' studios you'd like to visit. The website has links that let you explore the residents' work and also lists upcoming exhibitions.