Exhibitions in Milan inspired by the Olympic Games
Italy hosts the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the city of Milan offers exhibitions not to be missed for snow lovers and winter sports and more. Below is a selection of the most significant and themed ones, organized by the Municipality of Milan.
Italy on the snow. Italians and winter sports in illustrated periodicals and advertising graphics from the Bertarelli Collection.
Illustrated magazines and advertising graphics represent a privileged key to retracing the birth and evolution of mountain tourism in Italy and winter sports during the twentieth century, relating these phenomena to changes in fashion and accessories. On the occasion of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the Bertarelli Collection presents a selection of periodicals, catalogues, postcards and posters taken from its collections, offering a historical and visual look at a century of Alpine imagery. Curated by Alessia Alberti, Simona Maniello and Francesca Mariano.
Venue: Castello Sforzesco, Salette della Grafica, Milan
Dates: December 19, 2025 to March 22, 2026.
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Last admission at 17:00.
Tickets: Free admission.
Info: www.milanocastello.it
Hurrah for snow! Armando Testa and sport
Armando Testa (Turin, 1917-1992), a central figure in twentieth-century Italian graphics and visual communication, founded the agency that bears his name in 1946, giving life to an original language based on formal synthesis, irony and continuous experimentation for advertising, art, design, cinema and television.
The bond between Armando Testa and sport developed over thirty years of activity, revealing his extraordinary ability to transform the cultural and social changes of Italian society into images.
The Museo del Novecento dedicates seven sports-themed posters to the artist, flanked by the famous television carousel The Train to Saiwa (1966-1969), one of the most iconic works of Italian advertising communication. Curated by Gemma De Angelis Testa and Gianfranco Maraniello.
Venue: Museo del Novecento, Milan
Dates: from 22 January 2026.
Hours: museum closed on Mondays; Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Thursdays until 10:30 pm.
Tickets: included in the entrance ticket to the Museum.
Info: www.museodelnovecento.org
The Sense of Snow
The exhibition offers a reflection on snow, observed through a scientific, artistic and anthropological perspective. The exhibition begins with the study of the geometric structure of snow crystals, and then retraces the role of snow in the history of art, where from a simple background element it becomes the central subject of the representation, with works ranging from European landscape painting to Japanese prints.
The exhibition also addresses issues such as climate change and mountain overtourism, presented through installations and works of contemporary art, and concludes with an in-depth study dedicated to the Arctic and Tierra del Fuego peoples, highlighting how their forms of adaptation to the environment have influenced and inspired some Olympic disciplines. Curated by Sara Rizzo and Alessandro Oldani.
Venue: MUDEC - Museum of Cultures, via Tortona 56, Milan
Dates: February 12 to June 28, 2026.
Hours: Monday 2.30 p.m.-7.30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 09.30-19.30. Thursday 09.30-22.30. Last admission an hour before.
Info: www.mudec.it
The Mountain in the First World War
The exhibition focus is dedicated to the mountains as a theater of exploration and conflict, relating the origins of mountaineering with the experience of the Great War at high altitude. The narrative develops through relics, historical documents and photographic materials from the archives and deposits of the Civic Historical Collections, offering a direct and documented look at a fundamental chapter of Alpine, military and cultural European history.
Venue: Museum of the Risorgimento, Via Borgonuovo, 23 - Milan
Dates: February 6 to March 15, 2026.
Hours: from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 5.30 pm (last admission at 5 pm); Thursday 09.30-22.30. Last admission an hour before.
Tickets: Free admission
Bam Fair Play
BAM's program inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic spirit continues with performances, creative installations, workshops and thematic walks. On 8 February from 11.00 a.m., the interactive art installation opens, created in collaboration with NABA, which invites the public to question the founding values of the Olympics and Paralympics. A land art work by BAM depicting the Olympic rings and the three Agitos is tinged with the official colors of the event. Also at 11.00 a.m. the BAM walk "on display – a path between nature and design", in collaboration with Triennale Milano.
Outdoor initiative: BAM, Biblioteca degli Alberi, Via Gaetano de Castillia 28 - Milan
Dates: February 8, 2026.
Admission: free and open to all
Info: www.bam.milano.it
