The bridge between Paris and Cortona: Gino Severini comes home to the MAEC

From July 5 to November 1, 2026, the MAEC, Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the City of Cortona, hosts the international exhibition "Gino Severini. Modernity as Dialogue" at Palazzo Casali, dedicated to one of the great figures of 20th-century art. The exhibition marks the sixtieth anniversary of the death of Cortona-born artist Gino Severini, a central figure of the European avant-garde and a cultural bridge between Italy and France, tradition and modernity, Futurism and Cubism.

At a glance:

• Dates: July 5 – November 1, 2026
• Location: MAEC, Palazzo Casali, Cortona Works on display: over 80, including paintings and drawings
• Lenders: Centre Pompidou (Paris), Estorick Collection (London), Musée d'Art et Industrie (Saint-Étienne), Museo del Novecento (Milan), Vatican Pinacoteca, MART (Rovereto)

An artist of dialogue

The exhibition tells the story of Severini as an artist of dialogue: able to move across languages, countries and different artistic seasons, while always keeping alive his ties to his Italian and Tuscan roots. After his French period and his engagement with the great avant-garde movements, Severini maintained a deep bond with Cortona, his hometown.

The exhibition path

The exhibition is divided into five sections and traces the main phases of his artistic research: from the Macchia movement to Divisionism, from Futurism to Cubism, from a return to classicism to decorative painting, up to the relationship between religious art and modernity.

Documents, frescoes and immersive experience

Alongside the artworks, original documents, sketches, studies and photographic materials will be on display. A particularly significant section is dedicated to the frescoes Severini created in churches of French-speaking Switzerland, accompanied by an immersive multimedia installation with 3D viewers.

For Cortona, this exhibition is an important opportunity to rediscover its bond with one of its most illustrious artists and to tell, through his work, a fundamental chapter of 20th-century European art.

Where to stay to visit the exhibition

Villa Santa Margherita is 10minutes from the MAEC and Cortona's town center, the ideal base for taking the time to enjoy the Severini exhibition and the rest of the town. Discover our rooms and current offers.