By Rebecca Ceccatelli. Cover image HOME ALONE Davide Sgambaro Galleria FuoriCampo, Siena
The leaves are turning orange, the air is crisp — colder than just a few days ago. Tuscany glows in the golden light of autumn, and as the season nudges us indoors, it’s the perfect time to explore something new. Florence has quieted down, shedding its summer crowds, revealing a calmer, more intimate rhythm. But for art lovers, the question remains: what’s next in 2025? What to do when you’ve already visited Beato Angelico’s exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, admired the latest show at the Sant’Orsola complex, and know the classics — from the Uffizi to the Accademia — almost by heart?
In recent years, the Tuscan art scene has quietly evolved, with new initiatives and institutions reimagining what art can be. As a reminder that Tuscany’s artistic soul didn’t end with the masters of the past, a constellation of artistic spaces is flourishing across the region, from small villages to larger towns, where local identity merges with fresh creative visions.
These places, often overlooked by visitors and even by locals, are home to exhibitions, artist residencies, and contemporary projects. That’s why we’ve gathered a list of alternative art trips to take around Florence — perfect for when your must-see list feels complete, or perhaps not quite; who knows, you might just discover your next favorite art spot.
Tuscany’s Most Surprising Art Exhibitions This Season
Hugo Ciappi, Benvenuti Grazie Arrivederci, Prato
Hugo Ciappi presents a cycle of site-specific works, the largest he has ever created, exhibited in a hybrid place where scents and artistic vision melts into a veritable wave to surf with your senses. Often described by Giacomo and Filippo, the founders, as olfactive landscapes, the projects that happen in the space are never just for their own sake. In this occasion, the art of young artist Hugo Ciappi is welcomed and exhibited to observe humanity from a subtle, oblique distance, capturing ordinary life in moments both crowded and strangely empty. Figures appear fleeting, awkward, distracted, or vain, while surreal creatures, fleeing animals, and mysterious objects emerge from the spaces left behind, adding an uncanny layer to everyday scenes. Ciappi’s brushwork is alive and tactile, dense and resilient, as if to reclaim the physicality that modern life often erases. The exhibition balances irony and dystopia, inviting viewers to experience a world at once familiar and unsettling.
Until December 6, 2025 | Zanini XYZ, Prato
Davide Sgambaro, Home Alone, Siena
Davide Sgambaro’s first solo exhibition at Galleria Fuoricampo in Siena, Home Alone, delves into the complexities of familial trauma through a minimalist and poignant visual language. The exhibition presents three distinct series that juxtapose affection with abuse, innocence with violence, inviting viewers to confront often suppressed emotions. Sgambaro’s work transforms absence into presence, where the voids in the space become tangible memories, evoking a sense of ‘horror vacui’—not as emptiness, but as a haunting reminder of the past. This exhibition continues Sgambaro’s exploration of collective atmospheres and existential questions, reflecting the individual’s condition in contemporary precariousness.
Until November 6, 2025 | Galleria Fuoricampo, Siena
Vivono. Art and Affection, HIV-AIDS in Italy, 1982–1996, Prato
Vivono at Centro Pecci is the first major institutional exhibition in Italy to reconstruct the history of Italian artists affected by the HIV-AIDS crisis between 1982 and 1996. Curated by Michele Bertolino, the show brings together artworks, poetry, soundscapes, videos, and archival materials, offering a powerful and intimate testimony of a period marked by pain, creativity, and the fight against stigma. The exhibition unfolds across the historic spaces of Centro Pecci, which between 1992 and 1994 promoted cultural and social initiatives to counter misinformation about AIDS. Accompanied by a two-volume publication by Axis Axis, the exhibition presents a rich visual and scholarly record.
The show offers a unique opportunity to reflect on a often overlooked chapter of recent history, inviting visitors to engage with the experiences and testimonies of those years. It celebrates the resilience and creativity of a community that faced the health crisis with courage and determination.
Until May 10, 2026 | Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato
Yoan Capote, Ruido Blanco, San Gimignano
Ruido Blanco (White Noise) is a solo exhibition by Cuban artist Yoan Capote, presented at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano. The exhibition delves into themes of alienation and resignation in contemporary society, using the metaphor of white noise to represent the constant, unvarying sound that blocks our connection to the outside world. Capote’s works aim to awaken our deepest sensibilities and stir our emotions, making us aware of the dullness, demotivation, apathy, and emotional numbness that may be ingrained in our behavior.
The exhibition features works from Capote’s 2025 series Litoral (Shoreline), where the horizon almost disappears at the top edge of the painting, and sharp reef stones collected from the Cuban coast are incorporated into seascapes. These works recreate the perspective of those who have stopped looking toward the horizon, accepting its reef-ridden shore; those who have lost hope for the future and resigned themselves to the present. Formally, these works visually reference Monet’s iconic water lilies, but symbolically, they contrast beauty with hardship and pain.
Ruido Blanco also includes works from Capote’s series Islas (Islands), Purificación (Purification), and Sentimientos encontrados (Conflicting Feelings). These pieces use symbolic materials and collaborative creative processes to explore themes of tension, control, and the fragmentation of society. A video documenting the creation of these works is also part of the exhibition, offering insight into Capote’s artistic process.
Until January 7, 2026 | Galleria Continua, San Gimignano
