Best exhibitions in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna [Updated: 2026]

You're in Bologna for the food, I know. And I give you plenty of that, I promise.

But what about some art to digest tortellini?

Here's a curated list of the best exhibitions to visit in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna, always up to date.

Saul Leiter – A Window Covered in Raindrops

If you love photography that feels like a poem, this is your place. Saul Leiter was a master of the "unseen": blurry windows, raindrops, and the quiet magic of New York streets. This retrospective brings over 120 B&W and color photos (plus his rare paintings) to one of the most beautiful private palaces in town. 

📍 Palazzo Pallavicini, Via San Felice 24, Bologna

🗓️ March 5 – July 19, 2026 

🔗 mostrasaulleiter.it

Graphic Japan – From Hokusai to Manga

Imagine walking through four centuries of Japanese visual culture: from delicate ukiyo-e prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige, to bold contemporary posters and the colorful world of manga.

This exhibition traces the evolution of graphic art in Japan, where tradition and innovation constantly overlap. Divided into four thematic areas – Nature, Figures, Signs and Contemporary Japonism – it shows how a simple line can capture entire worlds.

Whether you’re a fan of comics, design, or just beauty in its purest form, this is a trip worth taking.

📍 Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna

🗓 When November 20, 2025 – April 6, 2026

🔗 graphicjapanbologna.it

Giorgio de Chirico – The Last Metaphysics

Modena celebrates Giorgio de Chirico with an exhibition dedicated to the artist’s late “neometaphysical” season.

Around fifty works retrace the decade between 1968 and 1978, when de Chirico—already in his eighties—returned to the themes of his early Metaphysics with new clarity, irony, and a brighter palette.

Mannequins, Italian squares and enigmatic interiors reappear, not as copies, but as playful reinventions. A rare chance to discover the master’s final, surprising rebirth.

📍 Palazzo dei Musei, Modena

📅 November 29, 2025 – April 12, 2026

Brian Eno – SEED & My Light Years

The pioneer of ambient music and visual art arrives in Parma with a "diffused" project. 

An immersive experience made of light and sound in historical spaces. 
Expect to lose the sense of time (and hopefully find the hunger for some Prosciutto di Parma right after). 

📍 San Paolo Complex & Ospedale Vecchio, Parma

🗓️ April 30 – August 2, 2026

Impressionists – 100 Years of Reflections

To celebrate the centenary of Monet's death, Parma hosts a massive selection of masterpieces from Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne. 
A rare chance to see the "stars" of French art in a 16th-century palace. 

📍 Palazzo Tarasconi, Parma

🗓️ February 14 - May 31, 2026

🔗 palazzotarasconi.it

If you think ceramics are just about dusty plates, this exhibition at MIC Faenza will make you change your mind. 

It’s a journey into the "alchemy" of Doccia porcelain, one of Italy's most prestigious manufacturers.

The show explores two centuries of history, from the 1700s when Carlo Ginori personally experimented with chemical recipes to find the perfect porcelain paste, to the Industrial Revolution.

Don’t miss: The two "Amore e Psiche" (Cupid and Psyche) sculptures displayed together for the first time. They are massive, fragile, and technically impossible for the time—a true miracle of 18th-century engineering. You'll also see how chemistry changed art, with the discovery of new colors like "Chrome Green" and "Nankin Yellow."

📍 Where: MIC Faenza, Viale Baccarini 19, Faenza (RA)
🗓️ When: January 31 – June 2, 2026
💡 Pro tip: From February 7, every Saturday at 4 PM, there’s a guided tour included in the ticket price.

micfaenza.org

Andy Warhol. Ladies and Gentlemen

Ferrara is about to get a full dose of Pop: in 2026, Palazzo dei Diamanti hosts Andy Warhol. Ladies and Gentlemen, celebrating 50 years since Warhol’s legendary 1975–76 show in the same venue.

Forget Marilyn for a moment: this series captures vibrant, unapologetic portraits of Black and Puerto Rican drag queens, where identity, glamour and reinvention take center stage.

Expect a punchy, colorful journey through Warhol’s portrait world, with over 150 works (from silkscreens to Polaroids) in one of Emilia-Romagna’s most beautiful exhibition spaces.

📍 Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara
🗓 March 14 – July 19, 2026
studioesseci.net