From 5 July to 30 November 2025, the exhibition Light from Italy: from Fattori to Morandi is on view in the Great Exhibition Hall of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga (Jaņa Rozentāla laukums 1).

For the first time in Northern Europe, a significant collection from the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence is on display, comprising 74 masterpieces from the permanent collection and the archives of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna at Palazzo Pitti, spanning the period from the Unification of Italy in 1861 to the interwar years of the twentieth century.

This selection reflects the main movements of Italian art: from the Macchiaioli group to Divisionism, from Symbolism to the forms of Italian Expressionism, from Futurism to the Neoclassicism of the 1920s. In collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi, an illustrated catalogue in Latvian, Italian and English has been published by Treccani.

The works by the Italian artists on display are presented in dialogue with Latvia’s
Classical Modernist and late nineteenth-century heritage, which art experts, both local and international, regard as among the most recognised artistic movements in the cultural heritage of the Baltic region.

The exhibition is accompanied by a variety of archival materials, photographs and accounts of the relationships between Italian and Latvian artists, offering the Latvian public and visitors to Riga a rich artistic experience and a deeper understanding of European cultural processes, read through their interconnections. Historical narratives play an important role in the display, contributing to a reading of Italy’s modern history, of state-building and of the cultural revival from the 1860s onwards, which developed in parallel with the Latvian National Awakening movement and came to an end with the Fascist period.

The project is distinguished by the involvement of leading Italian art historians in the study of the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art, as well as in the development of the exhibition concept and the production of the catalogue.

On the Italian side, the project was overseen by Vanessa Gavioli, Curator of twentieth-century art at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna of Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi, and Elena Marconi, Head of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna of Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi, together with Guicciardo Sassoli de’ Bianchi Strozzi, art historian and specialist in cultural diplomacy.

The curator for Latvia is Astrīda Rogule, from the Contemporary Art Collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM), while the exhibition design was created by the architect Artūrs Analts.

The exhibition Light from Italy: from Fattori to Morandi aims to foster new opportunities for collaboration between the twin cities of Florence and Riga, ensuring shared access to their respective cultural heritage. Riga City Council is one of the project’s principal supporters, and the project has been recognised as one of the city’s major events of 2025.

The project was realised by the Latvian National Museum of Art in collaboration with the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Nuova Artemarea association, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga City Council, the Italian Embassy in Riga and the Latvian Embassy in Italy.

Technical Details

Project director and curator for Latvia: Astrīda Rogule, curator of the contemporary art collection.

Project direction and curators for Italy: Guicciardo Sassoli de' Bianchi Strozzi, director of the Nuova Artemarea association, project curator and head of scholarly development for the Italian side.

Curator of twentieth-century art at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna of Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi: Vanessa Gavioli

Head of the Galleria d'Arte Moderna of Palazzo Pitti, Gallerie degli Uffizi: Elena Marconi

Head of research: Dr. art. Aija Brasliņa, head of the collections and scholarly research department (18th century - first half of the 20th century).

Scholarly advisors: Aija Zandersone, Arta Vārpa, Marita Bērziņa, Eduards Dorofejevs, Nataļja Jevsejeva, Luīze Frančeska Dakša

Exhibition design: Artūrs Analts, architect.

Exhibition coordinator for Latvia: Katrīna Vastlāve.

Exhibition coordination for Italy: Matilda Cribiori, Ren Jingge.