Mondi Salvi – 74th G.B. Salvi International Art Prize Exhibition

One of Italy's oldest art exhibitions

As you wander through the historic centre of Sassoferrato, in the Province of Ancona, and reach Palazzo degli Scalzi, you enter one of the most deeply rooted cultural events in the Marche region: the G.B. Salvi International Art Prize Exhibition. Founded in 1951 on the initiative of the local community, the exhibition honours the memory of Giovan Battista Salvi (1609-1685), the painter known as 'il Sassoferrato', a master of 17th-century sacred painting renowned for his Madonnas of intense sweetness. From a simple local painting prize, the event has grown to become a benchmark for artists and critics from all over Italy and Europe: as early as the 1960s, it opened up to foreign artists with the 'Piccola Europa' section, and in 2000, for its fiftieth anniversary, it hosted works by Miró and ceramics by Picasso.

'Mondi Salvi': the 2026 edition

The 74th edition is titled 'Mondi Salvi' and stages, across four rooms of Palazzo degli Scalzi, the intimate relationship between tradition and contemporaneity. The exhibition path intertwines the works of Bruno d'Arcevia, a historic artist linked to the Marche territory, with those of Giorgio Tentolini, a contemporary artist who works with stratifications and veils of light. The theme of myth, interpreted as a bridge between past and present, unites the two artistic languages.

Creative residencies

One of the new features animating the exhibition is the creative residency program, designed to bring the public inside the artistic process. The residencies, open to everyone aged 14 and over with no specific skills required, take place in the museum's spaces and cover painting, photography, and writing, led by artists and industry professionals. It's a way to transform the exhibition from a place of mere contemplation into a space for active participation.

Sassoferrato, an Apennine city of art

The exhibition is organised by the Municipality of Sassoferrato in collaboration with the Marche Region and the Istituto Internazionale di Studi Piceni. The village, nestled along the Sentino river at the foot of the Umbrian-Marche Apennines, also houses the MAM'S, the Contemporary Art Gallery inaugurated in 2014, which holds about 4,000 works donated by participating artists over the decades. Visiting the Salvi Exhibition therefore also means discovering a layered artistic heritage that tells the story of over seventy years of Italian and European art.

Why it's worth it

• One of Italy's longest-running art exhibitions, active since 1951.
• Prestigious venue in the 16th-century Palazzo degli Scalzi.
• Dialogue between ancient and contemporary art centred on myth.
• Creative residencies open to all to experience art as protagonists.