Beyond the limits: sport recounts a century of Italian transformation at the M9 Museum in Mestre

Sports as a privileged lens to observe the changes in contemporary Italy. It is on this perspective that Beyond the Limits is built. Sport Italia. Choral portrait of a changing country, the exhibition that will occupy the second floor of M9 - Museo del ’900 in Mestre from January 23 to March 15. It is curated by Michelangela Di Giacomo, flanked by Elena Dekic, Nicola Sbetti and Daniele Serapiglia. Far from the purely competitive dimension, the exhibition proposes an interpretation of sport as a social and cultural phenomenon, capable of reflecting the economic, political and identity transformations that swept through the country during the 20th century and that continue to affect the present.

“We like to think of this exhibition as a great choral tale where sports feats become the lenses through which to observe the transformations of our country,” says Vincenzo Marinese, president of the Venice Foundation. "With Beyond Limits, M9 invites visitors to reflect on Italy’s social and cultural changes, confirming itself as a hub for sharing and dialogue not only about the past, but also about our present, starting with the major events that touch the country today such as the Milan Cortina Olympics."

The exhibition will be inaugurated on Jan. 22 with a panel discussion scheduled at 5 p.m. in the Museum Auditorium. The meeting will be attended by Vincenzo Marinese, President of the Venice Foundation, Silvia Marrara, Counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Manuela Viel of Assosport, Carmelo Carbotti of Banca Ifis, Fabrizio Coniglio of Panathlon International, and Nicola Sbetti of the Italian Society of Sports History. The event is part of a day dedicated to sports and ideally dialogues with the passing of the Olympic Flame on Via Poerio, scheduled a few hours earlier, in the context of celebrations related to the Winter Olympics.

Conceived and produced by M9 at the instigation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the exhibition is divided into a diffuse path within the rooms of the Museum’s permanent collection. This curatorial choice allows a direct confrontation with M9’s historical narrative, offering new keys to interpretation that interweave the history of sport with the evolution of Italian society. The exhibition is presented as part of the Giornata dello Sport Italiano nel Mondo (Italian Sport in the World Day ) and lands in Mestre after an international journey that has seen it hosted at Embassies and Italian Cultural Institutes in Budapest, Santiago de Chile, Dublin, Prague, Hanoi and Rosario. Included in the program of the Cultural Olympiad of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics and Paralympics, BeyondLimits is proposed as a choral narrative of a country in constant change, highlighting the role of sport as a tool of representation and international projection of Italian identity. The path is structured in six interconnected thematic cores.

The first area addresses the diffusion of sport in the twentieth century, restoring the transition from elitist practice to mass phenomenon. The Women! section analyzes female protagonism and issues related to inclusion, highlighting achievements, resistance and contradictions. Travel investigates the relationship between sport and international mobility, while Incorporesano focuses on the role of sporting activity in health promotion. Superhumans explores the dialogue between technology and medicine, highlighting how innovation has changed the limits of the body, and Amore restores the affective and collective dimension of cheering, a central element of the Italian sports imaginary.

The exhibition consists of 72 panels and is accompanied by an articulate multimedia apparatus. QR codes allow access to materials from theIstituto Luce Archives, while original playlists and two videos made in collaboration with Home Movies - National Archive of Family Film expand the exhibition experience. The project is realized with the contribution of partners such as the Italian Society of Sport History and the Italian Touring Club.

Beyond the limits: sport recounts a century of Italian transformation at the M9 Museum in Mestre

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