Recently, the region of Lombardy has gone from being an orange zone to yellow zone with regard to COVID restrictions. Needless to say, those of us who live here are overjoyed at the news! One of the blessings of being in the “yellow” zone is that museums have reopened. Of course visiting a museum looks differently now. There are strict protocols in place and reduced hours, but the experience is frankly the same.
Last November, before the third lockdown, I visited Milan’s Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to twentieth century art. The museum is housed in Palazzo dell’Arengario, which lies in the heart of the city center, in Piazza Duomo. It’s hard to describe how iconic this location is. The Palazzo dell’Arengario faces the Duomo and sits next to the Palazzo Reale. There are 400 works of art in total – paintings, statues and installations – that span futurism, art between the two wars, abstractionism, spatialism and Arte Povera. They represent a broad artistic base: Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Modigliani, Jannis Kounellis, Alberto Burri and Emilio Vedova to mention a few.
I spent an afternoon wandering the halls, admiring paintings and sculptures, mesmerized by the creativity and variety of the artists. This museum is well worth your time if you’re visiting Milan. Once you make your way through the museum you are rewarded with a truly incredible view of the Duomo and Piazza Duomo. As much as I enjoyed the art, I have to say that standing in the room with the piano and floor to ceiling windows looking out on the piazza was my favorite part of the museum. Perhaps I’m not as cultured as I should be, perhaps I don’t appreciate modern art as it deserves to be appreciated, but there’s no denying that the view from the top floor is nothing short of jaw dropping and well worth the price of admission in and of itself.
How to buy tickets to the Museo del Novecento:
To visit the museum you’ll need to book your tickets in advance here. The tickets are very affordable at 5 euro a person. Since reopening they have reduced their house to Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am – 7:30 pm.
How to get to the Museo del Novecento:
METRO LINES
YELLOW LINE (M3) AND RED LINE (M1): Exit at the Duomo stop. The museum is a one minute walk from the metro station.
TRAM
Lines 2, 3, 12, 14, 16, 24, 27: Exit at Duomo stop
Lines 15 e 23: Exit at Piazza Fontana stop
BUS
Line 54: /Exit at Piazza Diaz stop
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