5 Must-See Exhibitions in Milan This August: Picasso, Kiefer, Pomodoro & More

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There are still many exhibitions in and around Milan that are absolutely worth visiting during the summer break and throughout August. In this article we highlight five of the most important ones, hand-picked so you won't miss out on a fantastic art-filled summer month.

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1. Picasso's First Painting in Milan

On show until September 27 at the Museo del Novecento, this exhibition reconstructs the story of Homme assis by Pablo Picasso - the first painting by the artist to enter Milan's civic collections in 1972. Through photographs, documents and archival materials, the exhibition tells how Picasso's "Musketeer" became a political and cultural symbol bridging the Paris Salon de Mai, revolutionary Cuba's Salon de Mayo, and Milan's anti-Franco mobilisations. At the heart of the narrative is the landmark 1972 initiative Amnistia. Que trata de Espana, hosted at Palazzo Reale in March 1972 with the support of the City of Milan, Italian trade unions and the Spanish Comisiones Obreras. The purchase of the painting by the City of Milan, at the behest of Mayor Aldo Aniasi, transformed the work into a concrete act of international solidarity in support of the fight against the Franco regime. The exhibition thus offers a reinterpretation of late Picasso not only as a master but also as a protagonist in an international network of civic engagement, where art, politics and cultural diplomacy are deeply intertwined.

2. Arnaldo Pomodoro Retrospective

Milan is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to Arnaldo Pomodoro until October 18, 2026 - one of the most significant sculptors on the Italian and international art scene of the late 20th century, who passed away on January 29, 2025, just shy of his 99th birthday. The exhibition, promoted by Gallerie d'Italia - Intesa Sanpaolo and the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, marks a double anniversary: the first year since the artist's death and the centenary of his birth.

3. Anselm Kiefer - The Alchemists

Le Alchimiste, Anselm Kiefer's monumental new exhibition at Palazzo Reale running until September 27, is part of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics cultural programme. Curated by art historian Gabriella Belli and housed in the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale, the show presents over forty large-scale canvases conceived specifically to engage with the dramatic beauty of this space scarred by the 1943 bombing. Central to the exhibition is the connection with Milan, the city where Caterina Sforza - scientist, military leader and author of a rare manuscript containing over 400 medicinal and alchemical recipes - spent her youth. Alongside her, Kiefer summons a constellation of female figures, both celebrated and forgotten: from Isabella Cortese and Maria the Jewess to Marie Meudrac, Rebecca Vaughan and Mary Anne Atwood. Through his textured, symbolic painting, the artist restores faces and bodies erased by history, acknowledging the crucial role these women alchemists played in the birth of modern scientific thought.

4. Mario Raciti - Works 1952-2025

The exhibition "Mario Raciti. Opere 1952-2025" on the first floor of Palazzo Reale until September 20, 2026, traces the complete artistic journey of Mario Raciti, from his early beginnings to his most recent research, revealing his deep connection with Milan and the cultural context that shaped his path. A significant testament to this bond is the important body of works acquired by the City of Milan on the occasion of the artist's solo exhibition at PAC - Pavilion of Contemporary Art in 1988, some of which are on display in this show. The exhibition represents both an ideal homecoming and a crowning achievement of Raciti's artistic journey in the city where he lived and worked, and where his painting stands as one of its most original and profound expressions.

5. Women for Women - Photography Against Violence

Until August 30 at Fabbrica del Vapore, visitors can experience the exhibition "Women for Women against Violence". The show features 21 photographic portraits, and through QR codes, visitors can discover the true stories of women who chose to transform their personal experiences into a public message of awareness and rebirth. The project, conceived by Donatella Gimigliano and realised by the Associazione Consorzio Umanitas Ets, uses the universal language of photography to draw attention to two of the most pressing emergencies affecting women today.

Bonus: Turner in Como - The Enchantment of Italian Landscapes

Until September 27, the city of Como hosts an artistic event of great cultural significance centred on the figure of William Turner (1775-1851), the foremost exponent of English Romanticism. The exhibition project, curated by Elizabeth Brooke and conceived and organised by the City of Como and Tate London - from which all the works originate - presents at Palazzo del Broletto and the Civic Art Gallery the exhibition titled "Turner: The Enchantment of Lake Como and the Italian Landscape". The show documents how travel was fundamentally important in defining Turner's expressive style, and focuses on how the Italian landscape, particularly that of Como and its surroundings, contributed to developing his extraordinary talent.