Symbolism in Italy — Exhibition at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation

A Major Exhibition on Italian Symbolism

The Magnani-Rocca Foundation, at its Villa dei Capolavori headquarters in Mamiano di Traversetolo, in the Municipality of Traversetolo in the Province of Parma (Emilia-Romagna), dedicates its major spring exhibition of 2026 to Symbolism in Italy. Under the full title "Symbolism in Italy. Origins and developments of a new aesthetic 1883-1915", the exhibition is one of the most comprehensive ever created on this pivotal chapter of art between the 19th and 20th centuries, and runs from March 14 to June 28, 2026.

Over 150 Works and the Great Masters

The exhibition brings together more than 150 works including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints, reconstructing the period when Italian artists moved beyond Realism and Naturalism to pursue, according to the exhibition's theme, "not reality, but the dream of reality". Among the key figures are Giovanni Segantini, Gaetano Previati, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Giulio Aristide Sartorio, Galileo Chini, Pietro Nomellini, Cesare Saccaggi, Adolfo Wildt, Glauco Cambon, and Alberto Martini. The exhibition also includes a dialogue with European masters such as Arnold Böcklin, Franz von Stuck, and Max Klinger.

The Thematic Sections

Curated by Francesco Parisi and Stefano Roffi, the exhibition is organized into thematic sections that explore the various facets of the Symbolist language:

• the literary sources, from Gabriele D'Annunzio to Angelo Conti and Vittore Grubicy;
• historical painting with mythological subjects, from Semiramis to Pygmalion;
• the section "In the Woods and Seas of the Gods", featuring landscapes populated by fauns, sirens, and deities;
• female iconography, suspended between angel and demon, spirituality and seduction;
• inner landscapes and the soul, with works such as "Love in Life" and "Flowers in the Abyss".

Among the masterpieces on display are Cesare Saccaggi's "Semiramis", Sartorio's "Green Abyss (The Siren)", and Glauco Cambon's "The Rhine Daughters". The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by Dario Cimorelli Editore.

Visit and Context

Admission to the exhibition also includes the Foundation's permanent collections — featuring masterpieces by Titian, Dürer, Goya, Monet, and Morandi — and the renowned Romantic Park surrounding the Villa. This is an opportunity to discover one of Emilia-Romagna's most important cultural sites, nestled in the hills of Parma just a few kilometers from the city center.