The Christmas appointment with great Italian art that treats the people of Milan to an extraordinary exhibition every year in Sala Alessi, the historic reception hall of the City of Milan, is back, and admission is free.
This year, from 3 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, visitors will have the chance to admire one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance: the Polyptych of Monte San Martino by Carlo and Vittore Crivelli, a 15th-century work that has rarely left its original home in the church of San Martino Vescovo in Monte San Martino (Macerata). The complex pictorial “machine”, dated around 1490, consists of ten panels with a predella depicting Christ blessing the twelve apostles. The exhibition in Milan is an event of outstanding importance, made possible thanks to extensive institutional and cultural collaboration between various organisations and administrations.
Produced and promoted by the City of Milan, the Archdiocese of Fermo and Intesa Sanpaolo, a project by Palazzo Reale and Gallerie d'Italia, in collaboration with the Municipality and Parish of Monte San Martino, produced by Civita Mostre e Musei with the support of Rinascente. Curated by Giovanni Morale and Marcello Smarrelli, the exhibition is part of the Milan Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympics programme. The catalogue, which includes introductory and in-depth essays, as well as descriptions of the works, is published by Allemandi.
In continuity with previous editions, the collaboration between Palazzo Marino and Gallerie d'Italia in Milan continues this year. Holders of the exhibition card are entitled to a discount that includes admission and a guided tour of the concurrent exhibition “Eternal and vision. Rome and Milan capitals of Neoclassicism”.
Once again this year, the exhibition is accompanied by the Natale nei borghi (Christmas in the villages) initiative, made possible by the collaboration between the City of Milan and Associazione Antichi Borghi Milanesi. From 13 December to 4 January, visitors can take part in free guided tours of around 20 sites across the city's nine municipalities. This initiative aims to promote neighbourhoods, churches, sanctuaries, abbeys and oratories, and to discover works related to the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and the Holy Family, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.