Unmissable exhibitions ranging from the Renaissance to modern art: from Beato Angelico to Toulouse-Lautrec, to the contemporary installations at Sant’Orsola. Florence in autumn comes alive with art and wonder.
Why is Florence in autumn the perfect destination for art lovers?
As the days get shorter and the squares are filled with the aroma of roasted chestnuts, Florence shows itself in a new light. With the summer crowds gone and life taking on a slower pace, the city of the Medici becomes a more intimate place, where you don’t just admire the art – you breathe it in.
You never need an excuse to return to Florence, but autumn does give you one more reason: it’s the season of the grand exhibitions, when the museums and historical palaces are transformed into stages of a sensory journey between past and present. This year, the star of the show is undoubtedly the exhibition dedicated to Beato Angelico, but you can also step into the fascinating world of the Paris of the Belle Époque or admire the contemporary art blooming within the walls of Sant’Orsola.
Who was Beato Angelico and why is this such a unique event?
Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, better known as Beato Angelico, was a figure who embodied the essence of the Early Renaissance: a mystic and an innovator, he was both devout and visionary. His works seem to be suspended between heaven and earth, capable of speaking to both religion and to human sensitivity.
From 26 September 2025 until 25 January 2026, Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo di San Marco are hosting the exhibition “Beato Angelico”, a monumental project involving over four years of planning, bringing together more than 140 works on loan from museums all around the world, including the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and the Vatican Museums.
This is Florence’s first major monographic exhibition dedicated to the artist in 70 years, curated by Carl Brandon Strehlke, together with Angelo Tartuferi and Stefano Casciu.
What makes this exhibition so special?
It’s the dialogue that makes the exhibition such an extraordinary experience: a dialogue between institutions (Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Ministry of Culture, Museo di San Marco) but also between periods and sensibilities. The event is being held across the two venues, creating a bridge between the sacred and the human, between art as a prayer and art as a quest for harmony.
You can admire restored masterpieces and altarpieces reunited after centuries dispersed, discovering how Angelico was able to merge gothic grace with Renaissance perspective. His portrayals of the Madonna, immersed in a divine-like light, envelop you in a silence that invites you to reflect.
It’s said that Beato Angelico never began to paint without praying first. Perhaps this is why, even today, we can sense a kind of inner peace when we look at his works.
And what if you want to move into a different period, from the Renaissance into the Paris of the Belle Époque?
Just cross the Arno and make your way to the Museo degli Innocenti, which from 27 September 2025 until 22 February 2026 is hosting the exhibition “Toulouse-Lautrec. A journey through the Paris of the Belle Époque”.
Over 170 works, including posters, lithographs, drawings and paintings, tell the story of the vibrant, chaotic world of the Montmartre cabarets, with the Moulin Rouge dancers, the bohemian artists and the energy of Parisian nightlife.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, with his ironic and compassionate perspective, was the master chronicler of that era in which art and life were deeply intertwined. The exhibition is enhanced by period furnishings, photographs and costumes, for a truly immersive experience in which you’ll smell the aroma of the wine and hear the sound of the violins of 1890s Paris.
Did you know? In spite of his short stature and physical afflictions, Toulouse-Lautrec was a staunch regular of the café-concert. He liked to say that “life should be lived like a poster”, and through his posters he made it eternal.
Is there also room for contemporary art in this Florence so steeped in history?
Absolutely! As you’ll see at the wonderful exhibition “Sant’Orsola – The Rose That Grew From Concrete”, running from 5 September 2025 until 4 January 2026 at the Museo Sant’Orsola.
This is an unusual venue, a former convent in the heart of the city, which has been undergoing a symbolic and physical rebirth for years. In anticipation of the official reopening of the complex, thirteen international artists have transformed the site into a laboratory of creativity and memory.
The works, all site-specific, converse with the marks of time: peeling walls, cracks, rough surfaces. It’s a powerful tale of resilience, where the damaged concrete becomes a metaphor for a beauty reborn even in the toughest conditions.
An interesting fact: The title of the exhibition, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, takes its name from a poem by the African American artist Tupac Shakur, a symbol of the strength that can emerge from hardship. A perfect message for the new face of Sant’Orsola.
How can you make the most of an autumn art weekend in Florence?
Take your time, as you should always do with precious things. In the morning, have a coffee in Piazza della Repubblica, as the city wakes up to the aroma of croissants and the footsteps echoing on the cobblestones. Then make your way to Palazzo Strozzi to soak up the reflective atmosphere of Beato Angelico.
Thanks to direct connections with Florence Airport – Amerigo Vespucci, just a few minutes from the centre, getting to the city is easy and convenient: the art awaits you almost as soon as you land.
In the afternoon, step into the more vibrant and colourful past with Toulouse-Lautrec at the Museo degli Innocenti: an explosion of light, laughter and nostalgia for a lost world.
And to finish off the day, there’s nothing more evocative than a stroll to Sant’Orsola, through the streets steeped in history, to discover how contemporary art still knows how to surprise us, even between scaffolding and concrete.
Why visit Florence specifically in autumn and winter?
Because this is the time of year when Florence shows its unhurried, authentic side. The museums aren’t busy, the lights of the palaces shine brighter at dusk, and every exhibition offers a warm refuge in which to discover the pleasure of a slower pace.
Florence is not an open-air museum alone: it’s a treasure chest from which gems are revealed one by one, between a cup of hot chocolate and a visit to a gallery.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see”, wrote Edgar Degas. And in autumn, Florence makes us see, and feel, all the silent power of beauty.
Whether you come for the weekend or for longer, Florence at this time of year does not merely exhibit masterpieces: it narrates them, lives them, transforms them. So are you ready to fall under its spell?
To find out more about the city’s museums, you can also read our article on the Uffizi and other unmissable museums in Florence.
