Gallery sights in Italy
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Scoletta del Santo
The Scoletta del Santo has a series of works by various authors on the life of St Anthony. The three by a young Titian (done in 1510-11) stand out, partly because they depict the saint's activities in the background and other events in the foreground. Take for example a classic theme: Il marito geloso pugnala la moglie (The Jealous Husband Stabs his Wife). The vicious act takes precedence over the saint's intervention.
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Spedale degli Innocenti
Shortly after its founding in 1421, Brunelleschi designed the loggia for what was Europe’s first orphanage. His use of rounded arches and Roman capitals mark it as arguably the first building of the Renaissance, while Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525) added the distinctive terracotta medallions of infants in swaddling clothes. Subsequent architects turned the piazza outside into a marvel of order and quirky symmetry.
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Galleria Lia Rumma
In an inversion of north-south convention, this is the Milanese outpost of Lia Rumma’s Neapolitan gallery. An early collector of Arte Povera, Rumma’s curatorial vision is legend and her international stable impressive: Marina Abromovic, Anslem Kiefer, Andreas Gursky and Peter Halley. She also shows high-profile Italians - look out for Ottonella Mocelli, Franco Scognamiglio and increasingly queasy-making Vanessa Beecroft.
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Edicola Notte
Blink and you might miss it! At 1m wide and 7m long, Edicola Notte is Rome's tiniest art gallery. Established by Chinese-Malay artist and expat HH Lim, it's a peek-from-the-street affair, lit up each night for voyeuristic passers-by. And before you start making size jokes, remember, it's what you do with it that counts - past exhibitors include art world heavies such as Jannis Kounellis, Yan Pei Ming and Yang Jiechang.
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Musei Civici Agli Eremitani
A converted monastery houses on the ground floor artefacts dating from Padua’s pre-Roman history, and, upstairs, notable 14th- to 18th-century works by Veneto artists from Bellini to Canova. The showstopper is a crucifix by Giotto, showing a heartbroken Mary wringing her hands as Jesus’s blood drips through the rocky earth, right into the empty eye sockets of a human skull.
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Gagosian Gallery
Since it opened in 2007, the Rome branch of Larry Gagosian’s contemporary art empire has hosted the big names of modern art: Cy Twombly, Damien Hirst and Lawrence Weiner, to name a few. The gallery, which was designed by Roman architect Firouz Galdo and Englishman Caruso St John, offers 750 sq m of exhibition space in a stylishly converted 1920s bank, complete with a theatrical neoclassical colonnaded facade.
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Frescoes
The town's real treat, Pinturicchio's beautiful frescoes, is in the Cappella Baglioni. The fresco is in the right-hand corner as you enter, behind glass, but be aware that you need to pay to illuminate the fresco. This is done not just to make money; constant light damages the paint. Also in the Cappella Baglioni is the exquisite floor (dating from 1566) made of tiles from Deruta.
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Galleria Corsoveneziaotto
Facelifts are unnecessary in Milan, because this gallery keeps eyebrows permanently up with sensations like Wim Delvoye's recent showcase of Milan's favourite media: pork. One whiff of his exquisite inlaid floor reveals that it was made entirely of Milanese salami, and taxidermied pigs tattooed with Louis Vuitton logos seem tailor-made to scandalise fashion-conscious Milan.
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Cenacolo Vinciano
One of the world's most famous art images, Leonardo da Vinci's wonderful mural depicting the Last Supper decorates a wall of the Cenacolo Vinciano, the refectory adjoining Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie. Painted between 1495 and 1498, the work captures the moment when Jesus uttered the words 'One of you will betray me'. It has been extensively restored.
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Loggia della Signoria
Built by Orcagna in the late 14th century as a platform for public ceremonies, this elegant arcade now serves as an open-air sculpture gallery, with highlights such as Cellini's magnificent bronze Perseo (Perseus). Also known as the Loggia dei Lanzi, the arcade was named after Cosimo I's Swiss mercenaries, the Lances, who were once stationed here.
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Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea
While most downtown galleries bank on international blue-chip artists, this plucky upstart still gambles on emerging Italian artists - and when it works, the payoff is that much greater (and the prices are better, too). Recent finds include Andrea Mastrovito's delicately outrageous Dracula-meets-Batman watercolours, and Luiggi Presicce's ghoulish toys.
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Uffizi Gallery
There are some museums that tower over all others in terms of the quality of their collections - think MoMA, the Egyptian Museum, the Hermitage, the Louvre, the Prado and the Vatican. But this list wouldn't be complete without adding Florence's jewel in the crown, the Uffizi. Filling the vast, oversized U-shaped Palazzo degli Uffizi, the collection spans the whole gamut of art history from ancient Greek sculpture to 18th-century Venetian paintings, but its core is the masterpiece-rich Renaissance collection.
Cosimo I commissioned Vasari to design and build the gargantuan U-shaped palace in 1560 - a government office building (uffizi means offices) for the city's…
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Civica Galleria d’Arte Moderna
Civica Galleria d’Arte Moderna is housed in a 15th-century palazzo, which metamorphosed into a convent in the 17th century. The wide-ranging collection of 19th- and 20th-century Sicilian art is beautifully displayed, and there’s a regular program of modern-art exhibitions here, as well as an excellent bookshop and gift shop.
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Galleria Milano
There is no beauty without risk, as this modern gallery in a historic palazzo has proved for decades. The vaulted ceiling of the grand salon was recently repainted with what looked like heraldic patterns from afar, but on closer inspection turned out to be thousands of mosquitoes hand-drawn by contemporary artist Vincenzo Agnetti.
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Convento del Carmine
The restored Convento del Carmine is an attractive gallery. Parts of the building date from 1155, when the Carmelites first came to Marsala with Roger I's widow Adelaide. After years of neglect and a spell as a police barracks, the convent has been returned to its former glory, and is now an art gallery and a centre for civil weddings.
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Galleria Cardi & Co
One of Milan's best-kept secrets is on a quiet street, through the courtyard and past garage doors: a polished concrete box often filled by Italy's most polished conceptual artists. Pier Paolo Calzolari recently showed lead and copper books slowly leaking saltwater onto white tablecloths, like fountains of knowledge reduced to tears.
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Photology
Tear yourself away from the gorgeous photography catalogues in the storefront bookstore and check out the gallery out back in the garden shed, where those X Portfolio fetish shots that got Robert Mappelthorpe censored in the US recently shared wall space with bored nudes in mod wigs by Andy Warhol and Carlo Mollino.
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Galleria d’Arte Antica
The Galleria d’Arte Antica has a handful of works by Caravaggio (there is a portrait of St Francis in room 7), Carpaccio (with a work showing the adoration of Christ’s blood in room 3) and Tiepolo (several works in room 10). The bulk of the collection is dedicated to lesser-known Friulian painters and religious sculpture.
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Galleria Lorcan O'Neill
Kick-started by a London art dealer and set in a converted stable, this is one of Rome's most respected private galleries. It was also one of the first to bring edgy international names to the city - think Tracey Emin, Max Rental, Matvey Levenstein, as well as local talent such as Luigi Ontani and Pietro Ruffo.
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Galleria d'Arte Moderna
This fine baroque mansion is considered one of the most important on the Grand Canal, started by Longhena and completed in 1710 by Gaspari. Since 1902 it has housed the Galleria d'Arte Moderna, a broad collection that includes pieces by De Chirico, Miró, Chagall, Kandinsky, Klee, Klimt, Moore and others.
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Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
Within Europe’s first public library, the 1609 Biblioteca Ambrosiana, is its outstanding art gallery, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. Priceless works include Italy’s first real still life, Caravaggio’s Canestro di frutta (Fruit Basket) and Leonardo da Vinci’s Musico (Musician).
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Ab Ovo Gallery
One of the more unusual art galleries in Todi, Ab Ovo looks forward rather than back in time. Museum-quality applied art – from jewellery to blown glass – adorns the modern space. Guest artists rotate about every two months, so check in for art openings and special events (open to the public).
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Palazzo Forti
Palazzo Forti is home to the new Galleria d’Arte Moderna, with 90 artworks from the 1970s to today and ambitious exhibits showcasing international modern artists such as MC Escher and Sol LeWitt, plus well-curated photography shows in the adjoining Scavi Scaligeri.
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Palazzo Zuckermann
Home to the Museo d’Arti Applicate e Decorative decorative-arts museum, covering flatware to fashion on the ground and 1st floors, and the 2nd-floor Museo Bottacin, a treasury of finely worked ancient coins, pistols and knives, and medals and badges of dishonour.
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Palazzo delle Papesse
Change eras with a visit to this contemporary art gallery if you've had your fill of medieval religious art. The gallery houses a number of permanent pieces from the likes of Micha Ullman, Perino Vele and Antonio Catelani, mixed in with ever-changing exhibitions. The rooftop terrace has stunning views.
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