Art Nouveau Week – Messina

A global week dedicated to Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau Week is an international festival promoted by the Associazione Italia Liberty and curated by Andrea Speziali, dedicated to celebrating the Liberty and Art Nouveau style in all its forms: architecture, decorative arts, fashion, illustration, and design. Created to honor the European modernist heritage, it has grown into a global event. The 2026 edition, the eighth, runs from July 8th to 14th and features over 300 cities worldwide, offering more than 750 events, including conferences, grand tours, guided visits, exhibitions, online scientific lectures, and thematic experiences. This year's theme is "The Sea," chosen to explore the relationship between modernity, tourism, and coastal landscapes.

Messina, a symbolic city of Modernism

Within the Sicilian circuit of the festival, Messina holds a prominent place. After the devastating 1908 earthquake, the capital of the Strait was entirely rebuilt, becoming one of the most important urban and architectural laboratories of the early 20th century, where the Liberty language interacted with reconstruction needs and new anti-seismic criteria. Visiting Messina during Art Nouveau Week means reading the city as a vast document of architectural history, through palaces, villas, and public buildings that still echo with Modernism.

The conference at the Palazzo della Cultura

The central event in Messina is the conference "Art Nouveau in Italy: The Case of Modernism in Messina," scheduled for Saturday, July 11th, at 4:00 PM at the Palazzo della Cultura "Antonello da Messina", in the Sala Palumbo on the first floor, on Viale Boccetta. Following institutional greetings from the mayor and city authorities, several scholars of Liberty and Sicilian Modernism will speak:

• Eliana Mauro, on the contribution of Ernesto Basile and Liberty architecture;
• Ettore Sessa, on the role of Basile and the Palermo school in the Messina context;
• Carmelo Celona, on the echoes of Modernism in the city;
• Francesca Passalacqua, on public and religious architecture following the 1908 earthquake.

Itineraries and Liberty heritage

Alongside the conference, Art Nouveau Week offers guided tours of Messina's Liberty heritage, integrated into the broader "Le vie del Liberty" (Liberty Routes) itinerary that spans Sicily. It is an opportunity to discover—with a fresh perspective—decorative details, palaces, and architectures that are often little-known, brought back into the spotlight thanks to the network of scholars and enthusiasts who drive the festival.

A free-entry event

The conference and the Art Nouveau Week initiatives in Messina are free to attend, reflecting the spirit of outreach and public accessibility that characterizes the entire festival. The event is part of the summer cultural calendar of the city and the Province of Messina, in Sicily, confirming the island's role as one of the regions richest in Italian Liberty heritage.