Belle Époque

With over 85,000 visitors, the exhibition Belle Époque, hosted at Palazzo Blu and curated by Professor Francesca Dini, has come to a close. The exhibition chronicled the golden age of European art through the eyes of the Italian artists who were leading figures on the Parisian scene.
The many facets of the fascinating yet complex Belle Époque era were explored through a rich program of lectures by historians, art critics, and scholars, as well as the film series “The Age of Wonders: The Belle Époque in Cinema” at the Cinema Arsenale, which offered diverse perspectives on a period of great artistic and cultural ferment.
The educational program was also of particular note, involving over 15,000 students, with more than 600 school groups and over 700 activities.

From October 15, 2025, to April 7, 2026, Palazzo Blu turned the spotlight on one of the most fascinating and refined periods in European history: the Belle Époque.

The exhibition, organized by the Fondazione Palazzo Blu in collaboration with MondoMostre and with the support of the Fondazione Pisa, is a tribute to the elegance, artistic vitality, and modernity that made fin-de-siècle Paris the cultural center of the world.

On display are over 100 artworks from prestigious Italian and international museums—including the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Uffizi Galleries, the Giuseppe De Nittis Art Gallery in Barletta, and the Capodimonte Museum and Royal Park—along with paintings from private collections never before shown to the public.

The exhibition unfolds in thematic sections that trace the evolution of an extraordinary era: from the political upheavals of 1870 to the birth of modern Paris. A visual and cultural journey through the society portraits of Boldini, Sargent, and Helleu, the urban landscapes of De Nittis, the Impressionist touches of Zandomeneghi, and the cosmopolitan elegance of Maison Goupil.

An immersive exhibition that intertwines art, literature, science, and social customs to convey to the public the timeless charm of a unique era.