The National Gallery of Modern Art

Discover Italy Through the Eyes of Modern Art
Step into one of Rome’s most important collections of modern and contemporary art and discover how Italian artists transformed the way the world saw art between the 19th and 20th centuries.
Founded in 1883, the museum was created to celebrate the work of contemporary artists and to establish a permanent collection dedicated to modern art. After moving through several locations, the collection found its permanent home in the monumental building designed by Cesare Bazzani, originally created for the 1911 International Exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the unification of Italy.
Today, the gallery houses an impressive collection spanning the late 19th century to the present, bringing together Italian and international artists and offering a fascinating journey through the major artistic movements that shaped modern Europe.
The collection includes masterpieces by some of the most influential artists of the modern era, from Impressionism and Symbolism to Futurism, Metaphysical Art, abstraction, and contemporary art. Paintings and sculptures reveal the dramatic changes in European society, culture, and artistic expression over more than a century.
A particularly important chapter in the museum’s history is associated with Palma Bucarelli, its influential director from 1941 to 1975. She transformed the gallery into one of Italy’s leading institutions for modern art, introducing groundbreaking exhibitions and acquiring works by major European and Italian artists.
A visit to the National Gallery offers a fascinating alternative to ancient and Renaissance Rome—a journey through the artists, ideas, and movements that shaped the modern world.