100 Painters of Via Margutta at Piazza Sempione

An open-air gallery in the Città Giardino

For a few years now, Rome's most famous open-air art exhibition has had an unexpected and highly successful offshoot: 100 Painters of Via Margutta at Piazza Sempione. For three days in late May, artists from the Cento Pittori Via Margutta Association leave their historic street of ateliers behind Piazza del Popolo and head to the Montesacro district in Rome's Third Municipality. The works are displayed along the perimeter and under the porticoes of Piazza Sempione, a square designed in 1919 by architect Gustavo Giovannoni as the hub of the Città Giardino Aniene, one of the most elegant and least touristy corners of the capital.

Who are the 100 Painters of Via Margutta?

The Cento Pittori Via Margutta Association is an institution of Roman artistic life. Founded in the 1970s, it brings together Italian and international painters, sculptors, engravers, and photographers. For decades, they have organized the Via Margutta exhibitions, where works are hung directly on the street walls. The model is that of a widespread, popular exhibition without tickets or closed rooms: you walk, you look, and you talk to the artist. It is precisely this formula that the association has exported to Piazza Sempione, with the stated goal of promoting art as an element of social cohesion and cultural exchange in Rome's neighborhoods, not just in the historic center.

Art and beyond

The Piazza Sempione exhibition is more than just a display of paintings. The program weaves visual arts with music, dance, archaeology, and cultural outreach: polyphonic choirs, youth orchestras, lectures, Argentine tango performances, and local history readings. Special attention is given to children and local schools, with painting workshops and free creative activities that turn the square into an outdoor classroom. The result is an event that works just as well for art enthusiasts looking for a new canvas as it does for families spending an afternoon in the square.

The neighborhood and the square

Piazza Sempione is the recognized center of Montesacro, featuring the scenic backdrop of the Santi Angeli Custodi church, the historic headquarters of the Municipality, and the villas and buildings in the 1920s Roman Baroque style. A few steps away, the Aniene river flows and the Parco delle Valli opens up, while the famous Ponte Nomentano, with its medieval tower, reminds us that one of the consular roads to Sabina once passed through here. Visiting the exhibition is therefore also an opportunity to discover a piece of 20th-century Rome that rarely makes it into tourist itineraries.

Why it's worth visiting

• Free admission for all three days, with the square open from morning until evening.
• Dozens of artists present in person: you can discuss the works and purchase them directly.
• A multidisciplinary program alternating art, live music, dance, and lectures.
• Activities and workshops designed for children and families.
• A charming urban setting, far from the city center crowds.

A consolidating model

Following the inaugural 2025 edition, which saw excellent public participation, the event was renewed with the patronage of the Third Municipality and the collaboration of local associations. The organizers' goal is to make it a fixed late-spring appointment in the city's cultural calendar, capable of bringing contemporary Roman art to the more peripheral neighborhoods of the metropolitan area. In the landscape of events in the province of Rome, it remains one of the most accessible and pleasant proposals in May.