Ottone Rosai returns to the spotlight in Florence with the exhibition “Ottone Rosai. Poet first and foremost”, scheduled at Museo Novecento from 7 March to 4 October 2026. The exhibition explores the deep relationship between the artist and his city, through paintings, figures, places and documents that reveal an intense and complex portrait of the Florentine painter.
For those visiting Florence in 2026, this exhibition is a special opportunity to discover twentieth-century Florence and enjoy a cultural stay in a strategic area of the city: Piazza Santa Maria Novella, where the museum is located, is easily reachable from Hotel Embassy.
The exhibition “Ottone Rosai. Poet first and foremost”
The exhibition dedicated to Ottone Rosai is based on the dialogue between the paintings from the Rosai Bequest and works from the Alberto Della Ragione Collection, brought together for the first time in a single exhibition route.
The exhibition unfolds across two distinct spaces and allows visitors to explore the most important themes in the artist’s research: the faces of friends, figures from everyday life and Florence as an inner landscape.
Alongside the paintings, the itinerary also includes a selection of documents from the Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P. Vieusseux, Archivio Contemporaneo Alessandro Bonsanti. This material enriches the interpretation of the artist, showing his relationship with the intellectuals, poets, publishers and artists of his time.
The connection with Florence
For Ottone Rosai, Florence is never merely a backdrop. Its streets, hills, monuments and isolated houses become inner places, spaces filled with memory, solitude, balance and belonging. The exhibition highlights precisely this physical and moral relationship with the city, far from the more idealised and tourist-oriented image of Florence.
In his paintings, Rosai portrays a truer, more everyday Florence: made up of silent faces, cafés, walks, urban edges and human relationships. The result is an exhibition route that invites visitors to look at the city with different eyes, discovering a more intimate, melancholic and deeply human twentieth century.
Where to stay to visit the Ottone Rosai exhibition in Florence
Visiting the exhibition “Ottone Rosai. Poet first and foremost” is the perfect opportunity to spend a few days in Florence and discover a less predictable part of its artistic history. To experience your stay with ease, the choice of hotel can make all the difference.
Hotel Embassy Florence is located just 80 metres from Santa Maria Novella Station and in an ideal position for reaching Museo Novecento, the historic centre and the city’s main attractions. After visiting the exhibition, you can return comfortably to the hotel, take a break and continue experiencing Florence at your own pace.