Under Florence’s distinctive yellow light, the walls of a house on Via Senese have silently hosted countless stories, brushstrokes, and thoughts for exactly 120 years. This week on Apartment No: 26’s art route, we celebrate that deeply rooted structure—Villa Romana—which, though somewhat distant from Florence’s historic center, nourishes the city’s cultural veins.
Museo Novecento is hosting the exhibition “CENTOVENTI: Villa Romana 1905–2025” in honor of the legendary artist house’s 120th anniversary. The show is on view until March 8, 2026. If you’re in Florence, don’t leave without witnessing the story of this enduring friendship.
Founded in 1905, Villa Romana has always been a free and independent refuge for artists seeking to breathe outside academic molds. The exhibition centers on the unending dialogue between this residence on Via Senese and the city of Florence. Seemingly far from the center yet at its very heart through its influence… This is not merely a place where artists stay; it is a living laboratory where residents transform one another, blending past and present. At Museo Novecento, this exhibition historicizes Villa Romana’s role throughout the 20th century and today in an Italian museum for the first time in such comprehensive depth.
As you wander through the galleries, you encounter traces of the giants who have breathed the air of Villa Romana, strolled its gardens, and created in its rooms. Works from both the Villa’s own collection and international museums are brought together. Who isn’t here? Max Klinger, Max Beckmann, Käthe Kollwitz, Georg Baselitz, Markus Lüpertz… Each has laid a stone in the house’s history and shaped the institution’s spirit.
Through archival documents and artworks, the exhibition is the most elegant proof of how a single house can shape an entire art history. In the capital of the Renaissance, it’s a wonderful opportunity to discover this 120-year fortress of modern and contemporary art.
Exhibition Title: CENTOVENTI: Villa Romana 1905–2025
Venue: Museo Novecento, Florence (First Floor Galleries)
Dates: Until March 8, 2026
Curators: Elena Agudio, Sergio Risaliti, Mistura Allison, Eva Francioli
Theme: History of Villa Romana, Artist Residency, Cultural Memory.
Featured Artists: Max Beckmann, Georg Baselitz, Käthe Kollwitz, Max Klinger.
