text Samuele Ferrari

January 7, 2025

Everything you need to know about Palazzo strozzi and its exhibitions

Let's learn more about one of the oldest and most important Renaissance buildings, today the heart of contemporary art

Palazzo Strozzi, one of the oldest and most important Renaissance buildings, is today the vibrant heart of international art, hosting exhibitions featuring artists from all over the world.

Since 2007, Palazzo Strozzi has hosted art exhibitions of every kind. The very first was Cézanne a Firenze, held from March to July 2017. Since then, the palace has welcomed internationally renowned artists, from those of distant pasts (such as Bronzino, painter and writer at the Medici court) to more contemporary figures (like Olafur Eliasson, who captivated the city with his light and color installations). You can explore some of the past exhibitions by clicking here.

Current Exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi

Until January 26, 2025, Palazzo Strozzi is hosting the exhibition Dipingere senza regole by Helen Frankenthaler. The American artist, one of the most influential of her generation, is the subject of a stunning retrospective that offers an overview of her work, placing her pieces in dialogue with those of artists like Jackson Pollock and Morris Louis. The exhibition features a journey through canvases, sculptures, and works on paper, many of which are loaned by world-renowned museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. To learn more, click here.

Upcoming Exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi

Drift

Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta will arrive at Palazzo Strozzi from October 24, 2024, to January 26, 2025, bringing DRIFT to Florence. The Dutch duo will captivate visitors with their installations in the open space of the courtyard, sparking reflection on the relationship between humans, nature, and space. Collaborating with artists, scientists, and technicians, the duo aims to provide the public with an interactive and immersive experience.

Tracey Emin

From March 16 to July 20, 2025, the works of British artist Tracey Emin will be on display in Florence. Born in London in 1963, Emin represented the UK at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2013 by Queen Elizabeth II for her artistic legacy. Her art emerges from the union of her biography and a constant drive for experimentation, aiming to depict human relationships. Her raw, visceral works will evoke a hybrid emotion—part love, part sacrifice. The exhibition, curated by Arturo Galansino, will be Emin's first solo show in Italy and will present both historical and recent works.

Angelico

From September 26, 2025, to January 25, 2026, Palazzo Strozzi will present the exhibition Angelico, in collaboration with the Museo di San Marco. The exhibition will focus on Fra Giovanni, better known as Beato Angelico, one of the founders of Florentine Renaissance art. Curated by Carl Brandon Strehlke, this exhibition offers a discovery of the artist through several works from the San Marco convent, which will be restored for the occasion, alongside pieces lent by major museums around the world, including the Louvre in Paris and the National Gallery in Washington. Sacred subjects will guide you through a journey of light and perspective.

Past Exhibitions at Palazzo Strozzi

The Cleaner, Marina Abramović

From September 21, 2018, to January 20, 2019, Palazzo Strozzi hosted The Cleaner, the exhibition of Marina Abramović, the undisputed queen of contemporary art. The exhibition retraced the most important stages of the artist's career through videos, photos, objects, and paintings—works that tested her body, its limits, and her artistic expression.

Aria, Tomàs Saraceno

From February 22 to November 1, 2020, Aria, an exhibition by Tomás Saraceno, blended art with natural elements like dust and cobwebs, acting as metaphors for the environment and our relationship with it. The exhibition fostered a dialogue between the Renaissance and contemporary periods: from humans at the center of the world to humans as part of a universe where we search for new harmony.

We rise by lifting others, Marinella Senatore

Marinella Senatore's exhibition was on display from December 3, 2020, to February 7, 2021. This exhibition reflected on concepts of community, closeness, and relationships, set against a backdrop of social distancing, which had become a daily reality in our lives. The luminous installations, inspired by southern Italian traditions, created a multi-layered work centered around the idea of building a solidarity-based society.

Shine, Jeffe Koons

From October 2, 2021, to January 30, 2022, the works of Jeff Koons were showcased in the Shine exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi. The exhibition featured the most famous pieces by the artist, who has revolutionized the way art is made since the mid-1970s. Shine is the key concept—a glow that exists in each of us, as Koons explains: "The artist’s work is a gesture aimed at showing people their potential. It’s not about creating an object or image; it happens in the relationship with the viewer. This is where art happens."

Donatello, il Rinascimento

From March 19 to July 3, 2022, Palazzo Strozzi hosted a unique exhibition with masterpieces by Donatello, as well as works by Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Over 130 works—sculptures, paintings, and drawings—were on display, with some pieces loaned for the first time from nearly sixty of the world's most important museums and institutions. The exhibition was spread across two venues: Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, reconstructing Donatello's artistic journey.

Nel tuo tempo, Olafur Eliasson

This exhibition, created by Olafur Eliasson, was hosted at Palazzo Strozzi from September 22, 2022, to January 22, 2023. It was the largest contemporary art exhibition ever held in Italy, offering visitors an immersive experience that invited reflection on our shared reality.

Reaching for the Stars

From March 4 to June 18, 2023, the exhibition Reaching for the Stars celebrated contemporary art stars, featuring more than 70 works by leading Italian and international artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Lara Favaretto, William Kentridge, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Sarah Lucas, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, one of the most prestigious collections of contemporary art worldwide.

Yan Pei-Ming. Pittore di storie

From July 7 to September 3, 2023, Palazzo Strozzi presented Yan Pei-Ming. Pittore di storie, the largest exhibition dedicated to the French-Chinese artist in Italy. The show featured more than thirty works that explored the relationship between image and reality, with pieces based on photographs from diverse sources, such as personal images, magazine covers, film stills, or iconic works of art history.

Anish Kapoor, Untrue Unreal

From October 7, 2023, to February 4, 2024, Palazzo Strozzi hosted Untrue Unreal, an exhibition by Anish Kapoor. Designed and realized with the famous artist who revolutionized the concept of sculpture in contemporary art, this exhibition delved into the interplay between the unreal and the untrue, transforming or denying common perceptions of reality. Featuring both historical and recent works, it offered a unique opportunity to engage with Kapoor's art.

Angeli Caduti, Anselm Kiefer

From March 22 to July 21, 2024, Anselm Kiefer, one of the most important contemporary artists, presented his exhibition Angeli Caduti at Palazzo Strozzi. Born in Germany in 1945, Kiefer’s art tells one of the darkest chapters of human history, breaking the silence around Nazi and postwar Germany. Since the 1990s, his travels to Asia and South America influenced his worldview and the philosophy present in his works. Through paintings and sculptures, Kiefer invites viewers on a journey of introspection, where the concept of limits does not exist: the study of memory and the past intertwines with infinite resources, creating a strong connection between past, present, and future.

History of Palazzo Strozzi

The history of Palazzo Strozzi begins in 1466 when the Strozzi family returned to Florence after being exiled by Cosimo il Vecchio due to political conflicts between the two families. From this period, Filippo Strozzi aimed to build the most beautiful palace in Florence, dedicating all his resources to purchasing the land on which the project was initiated on August 6, 1489. Initially, the plans were entrusted to Benedetto da Maiano and Giuliano da Sangallo, but later, the project was handed over to Simone del Pollaiolo. As the project progressed, Filippo Strozzi's health deteriorated, and he died before the building's completion. In 1505, his children officially moved the family residence to the palace, although the building had little fortune due to the conflict with the Medici family, who abruptly halted the expansion works.

The first restoration was completed between 1886 and 1889, thanks to Prince Piero, another member of the Strozzi family, who had since moved to Rome. The palace remained in the hands of the Strozzi family until 1937 when it was purchased by the Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni. In 1998, it became the property of the Italian State and was designated to host temporary art exhibitions. In 2006, the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi was established, encompassing the Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento, the Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux, and the Scuola Normale Superiore.

Opening Hours and Tickets

The museum is open every day from 10 AM to 8 PM, except Thursdays when it is open from 10 AM to 11 PM.

Full ticket: €15
Reduced ticket: €12 (available to those under 30 years old and holders of specific membership cards)
Young people ticket: €5 (available to those aged 6 to 18 and young adults under 30 on Thursdays from 6 PM to 11 PM)
Family ticket: €25 (valid for families consisting of one or two adults (19 years and older) and at least one child aged 6 to 18 years)
Free entry: Children under 6, people with disabilities and their companions, journalists with a professional card (after accreditation), tour guides with a badge, students of the Executive Course of the Gallerie d’Italia Academy.