City guideMilan · Sat 10 – Sun 11 October
Milan this weekend: Picabia and the doors that rarely open
Picabia at Palazzo Reale, the FAI Autumn Days, Mona Hatoum, Arnaldo Pomodoro and Brunori Sas.
The weekend at a glance
Choose a pick to find it on the map; scroll down for the full story.
Saturday · 10 October
All weekend · Saturday and Sunday
Saturday
10 October
Sat 21:00From €39
Concert · Arcimboldi
Brunori Sas, songs and stories
Brunori Sas is the stage name of Dario Brunori, the Calabrian singer-songwriter loved for warm, funny and moving songs about everyday life. His show Tuttobrunori mixes songs, monologues and memories, with his full band.
Saturday at 21:00 is the last of three nights at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the big theatre in Bicocca, north of the centre. Tickets start at €39; take the tram or the metro and allow time.
All weekend
Saturday and Sunday
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:30
Exhibition · Palazzo Reale
Picabia, opening the night
Francis Picabia never stayed in one style for long: Impressionist landscapes, then abstraction, Dada provocations, transparent figures and kitsch nudes. Palazzo Reale’s show is the fullest ever in Italy, with more than 150 works.
It was curated by his great-granddaughter, and it follows him from Impressionism to Dada and beyond. Palazzo Reale stands beside the Duomo; the show is open until 24 January, closed on Mondays.
Sat and Sun, hours vary by venue
Open house · Across Milan
Doors that rarely open
Twice a year the FAI, Italy’s national trust, opens places that are usually closed to the public. For the Giornate FAI d’Autunno, this Saturday and Sunday, there are 700 of them across the country.
In Milan the list includes Palazzo Cusani in Brera, Palazzo Litta on Corso Magenta and Casa Corbellini Wassermann. Visits are guided, many by volunteers; some can be booked on fondoambiente.it, others need no booking.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00
Exhibition · Fondazione Prada
Mona Hatoum, a world in glass
Mona Hatoum, the artist born in Beirut and based in London, makes maps and everyday objects feel unsettling. Her exhibition at Fondazione Prada, Over, under and in between, is one of the season’s big shows in Milan.
In the Cisterna, more than 30,000 red glass spheres map the world across the floor, under a web of blown glass. It is fragile and beautiful at once. Until 9 November, at Largo Isarco.
Sat and Sun, 9:30–19:00€12, free under 26
Exhibition · Gallerie d’Italia
Arnaldo Pomodoro, a life
Arnaldo Pomodoro, who died in 2025, made bronze spheres and discs that are polished outside and broken open to show intricate, machine-like insides. For his centenary the Gallerie d’Italia shows about 45 of his works.
Look for the fibreglass Sfera grande of 1966–67, his first large sphere. The show closes on 18 October; it is open 9:30 to 19:00, and entry is €12, free under 26.
Sat and Sun, 9:30–19:30
Exhibition · MUDEC
Matisse, the world in a room
MUDEC’s new exhibition, which opens on Thursday, shows how the art of Africa, the Islamic world, Russia, the Pacific and China shaped Henri Matisse: about 100 works in eight rooms, made with the Musée Matisse in Nice.
Loans come from MoMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Orangerie and Orsay. Look for the great two-part Océanie, the Jazz plates, and photographs he took in Morocco, never published before. Open 9:30 to 19:30.
Saturday
Sat 21:00
Brunori Sas, songs and stories
Brunori Sas is the stage name of Dario Brunori, the Calabrian singer-songwriter loved for warm, funny and moving songs about everyday life. His show Tuttobrunori mixes songs, monologues and memories, with his full band.
Saturday at 21:00 is the last of three nights at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the big theatre in Bicocca, north of the centre. Tickets start at €39; take the tram or the metro and allow time.
Teatro degli Arcimboldi All weekend
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:30
Picabia, opening the night
Francis Picabia never stayed in one style for long: Impressionist landscapes, then abstraction, Dada provocations, transparent figures and kitsch nudes. Palazzo Reale’s show is the fullest ever in Italy, with more than 150 works.
It was curated by his great-granddaughter, and it follows him from Impressionism to Dada and beyond. Palazzo Reale stands beside the Duomo; the show is open until 24 January, closed on Mondays.
Palazzo Reale Sat and Sun, hours vary by venue
Doors that rarely open
Twice a year the FAI, Italy’s national trust, opens places that are usually closed to the public. For the Giornate FAI d’Autunno, this Saturday and Sunday, there are 700 of them across the country.
In Milan the list includes Palazzo Cusani in Brera, Palazzo Litta on Corso Magenta and Casa Corbellini Wassermann. Visits are guided, many by volunteers; some can be booked on fondoambiente.it, others need no booking.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00
Mona Hatoum, a world in glass
Mona Hatoum, the artist born in Beirut and based in London, makes maps and everyday objects feel unsettling. Her exhibition at Fondazione Prada, Over, under and in between, is one of the season’s big shows in Milan.
In the Cisterna, more than 30,000 red glass spheres map the world across the floor, under a web of blown glass. It is fragile and beautiful at once. Until 9 November, at Largo Isarco.
Fondazione Prada Sat and Sun, 9:30–19:00
Arnaldo Pomodoro, a life
Arnaldo Pomodoro, who died in 2025, made bronze spheres and discs that are polished outside and broken open to show intricate, machine-like insides. For his centenary the Gallerie d’Italia shows about 45 of his works.
Look for the fibreglass Sfera grande of 1966–67, his first large sphere. The show closes on 18 October; it is open 9:30 to 19:00, and entry is €12, free under 26.
Gallerie d’Italia Sat and Sun, 9:30–19:30
Matisse, the world in a room
MUDEC’s new exhibition, which opens on Thursday, shows how the art of Africa, the Islamic world, Russia, the Pacific and China shaped Henri Matisse: about 100 works in eight rooms, made with the Musée Matisse in Nice.
Loans come from MoMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Orangerie and Orsay. Look for the great two-part Océanie, the Jazz plates, and photographs he took in Morocco, never published before. Open 9:30 to 19:30.
Mudec - Museo delle Culture