I’m not exactly into art museum. It’s probably the last thing I look for when I visit a city, especially if the weather is good. 
But what to do between a visit of a market and a walk to have breakfast at that lost bar in a lost neighbourhood? It can be nice to stop and learn more about an hidden artist to rediscover, daylife art almost disappeared or old photographs of the city you love. 
Here are 3 exhibitions that left me speechless for different reasons. You still a few time to visit them and you really should. 

It takes about 1,5h to arrive from Bologna at Fondazione Magnani Rocca. Seems a lot but trust me, your efforts will be more than repaid. The Villa itself, with its charming park and permanent collection of opera by Tiziano, Canova, Dürer, Goya etc., is astonishing. 
Until Dec.10 Fondazione hosts a unique exhibition about Italian advertising art. You can see how illustration started to being used as a persuasive tool to promote some of the most famous Italian products like Campari drinks or Baci Perugina chocolate.
Not only posters but also packaging tins and billboards: pieces of art inspired by futurism or liberty style.
One more reason to go? At the restaurant inside the Villa you can find the best dishes of local cuisine like torta fritta with culatello or Parma ham.

Info
When
Sept.9th ― Dec.10th 2017

Where
Fondazione Magnani Rocca, via Fondazione Magnani Rocca 4, Mamiano di Traversetolo (Parma)

Tickets
Adults 10€, School 5€

Contact
tel. +39 0521 848327 / 848148 
info@magnanirocca.it

www.magnanirocca.it/mostra-pubblicita/

I love photography. Taking photos is for me a way to enter a culture, an excuse to get close to people and talk to them, and I think a good photo can speak more than words sometimes. This exhibition makes you travel through the last 150 years of Bologna with images. It’s a complete collection of shots of the main events of 900′: from the demolition of the towers of Mercato di Mezzo, to the bombing during World War II, the students protests of the 70′s or the disaster at the train station of Aug.2nd. But mostly is the story of people and faces who made Bologna what it is today. I do hope this exhibition will be permanent. Be sure to save 1h to visit it.

Info
When
Sept.6th – Jan.7th 2018

Where
Piazza Re Enzo underpass, Piazza Re Enzo Bologna

Tickets
Adults 6€, Kids 4€Contact

Contact
tel. +39 051 2194150
bolognafotografata@cineteca.bologna.it

festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/evento/bologna-fotografata/

For most of you the name of Cesare Leonardi will sound unfamiliar. Even if many of his furnishings have been displayed at MoMA in New York or Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Leonardi is still largely unknown outside Modena. Over the course of a 50 years career, Leonardi’s practice has included architecture, town planning, photography, design, painting and sculpture, working non-stop on the boundary between artistic planning and practice. After lambrusco&nocino that end our food tour in Modena, it’s perfect to get lost inside the shapes designed by Leonardi. This exhibition is curated by Archivio Cesare Leonardi, the cultural association founded in 2010 with the aim of protecting and promoting the work of this underrated artist.

Info
When
Sept.15th ― Feb.4th 2018

Where
Galleria Civica di Modena, Palazzo Santa Margherita and Palazzina dei Giardini, Modena (MO)

Tickets
Free entrance

Contact
tel. +39 059 2032911/2032940 

www.mostracesareleonardi.it

Photos ©Francesco Boni

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