On December 31 of each year, Finestre Sull’Arte publishes the ranking of the best Italian exhibitions of the year just ended. Once again this year, the ranking of the best exhibitions of 2025 in Italy was decreed by a quality jury composed of more than 100 insiders (journalists, art historians, critics, curators, artists, museum directors, gallery owners, antiquarians, and press offices) who made their judgements by voting for the exhibitions (the list of all jurors is published at the bottom of the article, along with the method used), divided into two categories: ancient and modern art and contemporary art.
As always, the editors of Finestre Sull’Arte awarded two special mentions, completely unrelated to the jury vote. The mentions were given to the exhibition Andrea Solario. The Seduction of Color (curated by Lavinia Galli and Antonio Mazzotta, Milan, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, from March 26 to June 30, 2025), judged as the best ancient or modern art exhibition of 2025 in Italy according to the editorial staff of the publication, and to Chiharu Shiota. The soul trembles (curated by Mami Kataoka and Davide Quadrio, Turin, Museum of Oriental Art, Oct. 22, 2025 to June 28, 2026), judged as the best contemporary art exhibition of 2025 in Italy according to the head’s editorial staff.
Instead, below we publish the two rankings, in order from 15th to first position, as resulting from the jurors’ votes.
15. Matthias Stom. A Caravaggesque in the Lombard Collections (curated by Gianni Papi, Brescia, Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, September 18, 2025 to February 15, 2026)
14. The Farnese in Sixteenth-Century Rome. Origins and fortune of a collection (curated by Chiara Rabbi Bernard and Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome, Musei Capitolini - Villa Caffarelli, from February 11 to May 18, 2025)
13. Giacomo Francesco Cipper "German. Il Teatro del Quotidiano (curated by Maria Silvia Proni and Denis Ton, Trento, Castello del Buonconsiglio, from April 12 to September 14, 2025)
12. Giovanni Fattori. A Revolution in Painting (curated by Vincenzo Farinella, Livorno, Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, September 6, 2025 to January 11, 2026)
11. Casorati (curated by Giorgina Bertolino, Fernando Mazzocca and Francesco Poli, Milan, Palazzo Reale, from February 15 to June 29, 2025)
10. Giovanni Pisano. Memory of a Sculptor (curated by Emanuele Pellegrini and Donata Levi, Pisa, Palazzo dell’Opera del Duomo, from December 13, 2025 to March 8, 2026)
9. Andrea Appiani. Neoclassicism in Milan (curated by Fernando Mazzocca, Francesco Leone and Domenico Piraina, Milan, Palazzo Reale, September 23, 2025 to January 11, 2026)
8. Hammershøi and the painters of silence (curated by Paolo Bolpagni, Rovigo, Palazzo Roverella, Feb. 22 to June 29, 2025)
7. Caravaggio 2025 (curated by Francesca Cappelletti, Maria Cristina Terzaghi and Thomas Clement Salomon, Rome, Palazzo Barberini, March 7 to July 6, 2025)
6. Andrea Solario. The Seduction of Color (curated by Lavinia Galli and Antonio Mazzotta, Milan, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, March 26 to June 30, 2025).
5. Global Baroque (curated by Francesca Cappelletti and Francesco Freddolini, Rome, Scuderie del Quirinale, April 4 to July 13, 2025)
4. Mani-Facture. The Ceramics of Lucio Fontana (curated by Sharon Hecker, Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, October 11 through March 2, 2026).
3. Simone Cantarini. A Young Master between Pesaro, Bologna and Rome (curated by Anna Maria Ambrosini Massari, Yuri Primarosa and Luigi Gallo, Urbino, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, May 22 to October 12, 2025)
2. Pietro Bellotti and Seventeenth-Century Painting in Venice. Awe, Reality, Enigma (curated by Francesco Ceretti, Michele Nicolaci and Filippo Piazza, Venice, Gallerie dell’Accademia, September 19, 2025 to January 18, 2026)
1. Beato Angelico (curated by Carl Brandon Strehlke, Angelo Tartuferi, and Stefano Casciu, Florence, Palazzo Strozzi and Museo Nazionale di San Marco, September 26, 2025 to January 25, 2026). Best exhibition of ancient or modern art in Italy in 2025 according to the quality jury of Finestre sull’Arte.
15. Sueño Perro (curated by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Milan, Fondazione Prada, September 18, 2025 to February 25, 2026)
14. Yukinori Yanagi. Icarus (curated by Vicente Todolí and Fiammetta Griccioli, Milan, Pirelli HangarBicocca, from March 27 to July 27, 2025)
13. Facile irony (curated by Lorenzo Balbi and Caterina Molteni, Bologna, MAMbo, from February 6 to September 7, 2025)
12. Daniel Buren (curated by Daniel Buren and Monica Preti, Pistoia, Antico Palazzo dei Vescovi and other venues, March 8 to July 27, 2025)
11. Tatiana Trouvé. The Strange Life of Things (curated by Caroline Bourgeois, Venice, Palazzo Grassi, April 6, 2025 to January 4, 2026)
10. Carrie Mae Weems. The Heart of the Matter. (curated by Sarah Meister, Turin, Gallerie d’Italia, April 17 to September 7, 2025)
9. 1+1. The relational years (curated by Nicolas Bourriaud and Eleonora Farina, Rome, MAXXI, October 29, 2025 to March 1, 2026).
8. Chiharu Shiota. The soul trembles (curated by Mami Kataoka and Davide Quadrio, Turin, Museum of Oriental Art, October 22, 2025 to June 28, 2026)
7. Adrian Paci. No man is an island (curated by Cristiana Perrella, Rome, Conciliazione 5, June 11 to September 21, 2025).
6. Tomaso Binga. Euphoria (curated by Eva Fabbris and Daria Khan, Naples, Museo Madre, April 18 to October 6, 2025)
5. They live. Art and Affects, HIV-AIDS in Italy. 1982-1996 (curated by Michele Bertolino, Prato, Pecci Center, Oct. 4, 2025 to May 10, 2026)
4. Tracey Emin. Sex and Solitude (curated by Arturo Galansino, Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, March 16 to July 2025)
3. Letizia Battaglia. The Work 1970-2020 (curated by Walter Guadagnini, Forli, Museo San Domenico, Oct. 18, 2025 to Jan. 11, 2026)
2. Rebecca Horn. Cutting through the past (curated by Marcella Beccaria, Rivoli, Castello di Rivoli, May 22 to September 21, 2025)
1. Nan Goldin. This will not end well (curated by Roberta Tenconi with Lucia Aspesi, Milan, Pirelli HangarBicocca, October 11, 2025 to February 15, 2026). Best contemporary art exhibition in Italy in 2025 according to the quality jury of Finestre sull’Arte.
For 2025, the quality jury of Finestre Sull’Arte was composed of: Fabrizio Ajello (Artist), Francesca Anton acci (Owner of Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art gallery of ancient and modern art), Giulia Aurigemma (Full Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Chieti), Lorenzo Balbi (Director MAMbo - Museum of Modern Art of Bologna), Ilaria Baratta (Journalist, editor-in-chief Finestre sull’Art), Giorgio Baratti (Collector and antiquarian), Valentina Bernabei (Art Critic), Donatella Biagi Maino (Associate Professor of Museology, University of Bologna), Silvia Blasio (Associate Professor of History of theModern Art, University of Perugia), Paolo Bolpagni (Art Historian, Director Fondazione Ragghianti, Lucca), Maria Bonmassar (Press Office), Giorgio Bonomi (Contemporary Art Critic, Director of Titolo), Stefano Brachetti (Ministry of Culture official), Andrea Bruciati (Art Historian), Lorenzo Bruni (Critic and curator), Carlo Alberto Bucci (Journalist and art critic), Matilde Cadenti (Gallerist), Daniele Capra (Curator), Caterina Caputo (Researcher in contemporary art history), Massimiliano Caretto (Gallerist), Eliana Carrara (Associate Professor of History of Art Criticism.Art, University of Genoa), Sara Catenacci (Researcher in museology, history of art criticism and restoration, Scuola IMT Alti Studi, Lucca), Maurizio Cecchetti (Art Critic.Art, Journalist), Tristana Chinni (Journalist, Art Critic), Michele Chiossi (Artist), Michelangelo Consani (Artist and founder of ieedificio57, San Gimignano), Floriana Conte (Associate Professor of Art History, University of Foggia), Valter Curzi (Full Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Rome La Sapienza), Alice Cutullè (Researcher), Michele Dantini (Full Professor of Contemporary Art History, University for Foreigners of Perugia, art critic, essayist), Silvia De Felice (Documentary Producer), Giorgio Dellacasa (Art Historian), Paolo Delorenzi (Historian of theArt, Associate Professor of Museology, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice), Pietro Di Loreto (Director About Art online), Laura Facchin (Associate Professor of History of Modern Art, University of theInsubria), Maurizio Faleni (Artist), Vincenzo Farinella (Full Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Pisa), Fabrizio Federici (Art Historian), Simone Ferrari (Associate Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Parma), Giovanni Ferrario (Artist and Lecturer in Phenomenology and Art Criticism, Catholic University, Milan), Marco Ferri (Journalist), Elena Fiori (Communication and Press Office), Ada Patrizia Fiorillo (Associate Professor of History of Contemporary Art, University of Ferrara), Christian Fogarolli (Artist), Sabino Maria Frassà (Curator), Elena Fumagalli (Full professor of History of Modern Art, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Cristina Galassi (Associate professor of History ofArt, University for Foreigners of Perugia), Diego Galizzi (Director Imola Musei), Giorgia Gastaldon (Researcher, University degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata), Antonio Gesino (Director of Ancient Paintings Department, Wannenes Auction House), Dario Ghibaudo (Artist), Danka Giacon (Conservator cultural heritage), Federico Giannini (Journalist, Director Finestre sull’Arte), Alessandra Giannotti (Associate Professor History of Modern Art), Francesca Anita Gigli (Journalist), Antonella Gioli (Associate Professor of Museology, University of Pisa), Cristiano Giometti (Associate Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Florence), Marsel Grosso (Researcher), Alessandra Guerrini (Director National Museums of Genoa), Axel Hémery (Director National Museums of Siena), Marco Horak (Art historian, museum curator), Laura Iamurri (Full Professor of History of Contemporary Art, University of Roma Tre), Francesca Interguglielmi (Art Historian), Antonio Iommelli (Director of Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese, Piacenza), Stefano L’Occaso (Director of Palazzo Ducale in Mantua and Complesso monumentale della Pilotta in Parma), Gabriele Landi (Artist), Angelo Loda (Art Historian official, Superintendence of Bergamo and Brescia), Simona Maggiorelli (Director of Left), Barbara Mancuso (Associate Professor of History of theModern Art, University of Catania), Patrizia Mania (Professor of Contemporary Art History, University of Tuscia), Pietro Cesare Marani (Honorary Professor of History of Modern Art, Politecnico di Milano), Fabio Marcelli (Associate Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Perugia), Nicolas Martino (Critic and essayist), Gabriele Mazzi (Curator, Rodolfo Siviero House Museum), Mauro Minardi (Art Historian), Simona Moretti (Full Professor of Medieval Art History, IULM, Milan), Raffaella Morselli (Full Professor of History of theModern Art, University of Rome La Sapienza), Michele Nicolaci (Art Historian Officer, Ministry of Culture), Giacomo Nicolella Maschietti (Journalist), Barbara Notaro Dietrich (Journalist), Francesco Occhinegro (Gallerist ( Daniele Panucci (Curator Museo della Ceramica di Savona and Casa Museo Jorn MuDA Albissola Marina), Caterina Paparello (University Researcher in Museology and Art Criticism and Restoration, Ca’ Foscari, Venice), Marta Paraventi (Lecturer in Art History, Academy of Fine Arts, Macerata), Paolo Parisi (Artist, Lecturer and Deputy Director Academy of Fine Arts, Florence), Clarice Pecori Giraldi (Art collection manager), Emanuele Pellegrini (Full Professor of History of Art, Scuola IMT Alti Studi, Lucca), Claudio Pescio (Director Art and Dossier), Filippo Piazza (Art Historian official, Ministry of Culture), Valter Pinto (Art Historian, Associate Professor of History of theModern Art, University of Catania), Ludovico Pratesi (Curator and Founder Spazio Taverna, Rome), Yuri Primarosa (Curator, Rome, Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica), Adriana Rispoli (Curator), Gabriele Romeo (Lecturer in Phenomenology of Contemporary Arts, Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti, Turin), Massimiliano Rossi (Full Professor of History of Art Criticism.Art, University of Salento), Giorgia Salerno (Conservator and curator of the Museum of Art of the city of Ravenna), Maria Chiara Salvanelli (Press Office), Marta Santacatterina (Journalist), Federica Schneck (Curator), Marcello Smarrelli (Artistic Director Pesaro Musei), Maria Rosa Sossai (Curator), Sara Stangoni (Communication, Press Office), Jacopo Suggi (Historian of theart, journalist, curator), Emilia Talamo (Associate Professor of Art History, University of Calabria), Angelo Tartuferi (Art Historian), Marco Tonelli (Art Critic.Art, Scientific Curator, Beverly Pepper Foundation, Todi), Patrizia Tosini (Full Professor of History of Art, University of Roma Tre), Giovanni Travagliato (Associate Professor of Medieval Art History, University of Palermo), Alessandra Troncone (Art Historian, Lecturer Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, Curator Quadriennale di Roma 2025), Cecilia Vicentini (Associate Professor of History of Art CriticismArt, University of Ferrara), Mattia Vinco (Associate Professor of History of Modern Art, University of Trento), Rossella Vodret (Art Historian, Former Superintendent for the Historical and Artistic Heritage and the Museum Pole of Rome), Massimiliano Zane (Consultant in Economics of Culture), Giulia Zanichelli (Communication and Press Office), Emanuela Zanon (Editorial Director Juliet Art Magazine online), Alessandro Zuccari (Academician of the Lincei).
The editors of Finestre Sull’Arte initially selected a shortlist of 60 candidate exhibitions, chosen from the most interesting exhibitions of the year held in institutional venues (exhibitions in commercial galleries are not included), 30 for ancient art and 30 for contemporary art, following a discussion among editors, contributors, colleagues and experts. Only jurors invited by the editorial staff could take part in the voting. Each juror was asked to express himself or herself by casting a vote from 1 to 10 on the exhibitions visited. The ranking was then drawn up using a system marked by maximum balance, taking into account both the average score obtained and the interest aroused by the exhibition by measuring it in terms of visits obtained, while making sure that there was harmony between the average vote and the number of visits. Each exhibition in the “top 10” ranking was still visited by at least 35 percent of the jurors. Each juror could only comment on exhibitions visited and those for which he or she did not work or collaborate.
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
