Palazzo Reale in Milan Hosts Major Exhibition on the Macchiaioli and 19th-Century Italy

Palazzo Reale in Milan presents a comprehensive exhibition on the Macchiaioli, a group of Italian painters active in the second half of the 19th century. The show includes works by Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega, Telemaco Signorini, Giuseppe Abbati, Odoardo Borrani, and others, alongside tangential figures like Giovanni Boldini, Federico Faruffini, and Gerolamo Induno. The Macchiaioli, who never formed an official movement, shared ideals of abandoning academic conventions to depict modern society through innovative techniques centered on light and color (the 'macchia' or patch). Their 'heroic' period spanned from the 1859 war of independence to 1871, when Florence was temporary capital of Italy. The exhibition traces their origins at Florence's Caffè Michelangiolo, their plein-air sessions at Castiglioncello hosted by patron Diego Martelli, and their focus on everyday rural life and Risorgimento battles. Key works include Fattori's 'Diego Martelli a Castiglioncello' (1867) and 'Silvestro Lega che dipinge sugli scogli' (1866-1867), Abbati's 'Le mura di San Gimignano' (c. 1863), and Signorini's 'Pascoli a Castiglioncello' (1861). The exhibition runs until June 14, 2026.