Rome's Top Museums: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna

Housed in an historical building that was finished in between 1911 and 1915, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome is dedicated to the modern and contemporary art. The design of the building reflects the classical architecture and is reminiscent of an ancient temple. To me, the museum is a beautiful "time capsule" that connects the old and the new. 

One of the most impressive temporary exhibitions at the museum is the "Time is Out of Joint." The idea behind this exhibition is to renovate curatorial methods by exhibiting artworks, based on their aesthetic value and subject matters rather than in a chronological order. The show alludes to the end of the history of art and aims to provide a new perspective on looking at art from different time periods- thus a fun and unique experience for the viewers. The museum-goers have the chance to examine works by Antonio Canova, Giacomo Balla, Paul Cézanne, Giorgio De Chirico, Marcel Duchamp,  Alberto Giacometti, Francesco Hayez, Gustav Klimt and many others, side by side. 

Here is a cool video about the exhibition, posted by Giorgio Nasti on Vimeo: 

At the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, visitors will find works by world-renowned Impressionists and modern artists, such as Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, and Marcel Duchamp. The great thing about the museum is that it is not as busy as other famous modern museums around the world, thus a private space is provided just for "watching art". Among many artworks at the museum, I chose a few to look at closely. One of them was Klimt's "The Three Ages of Woman" (1905), and it was my first time seeing a painting by Klimt in the flesh. It is a moving artwork that represents the cycle of life. 

General museum tip

On the first Sunday of each month, state museums and archaeological sites offer free entry for everyone. Some of the most important ones are the Colosseum and Roman Forum/Palatine, the Museo Nazionale Romano (Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi, Terme di Diocleziano), the Borghese Gallery (booking required), the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica-Palazzo Barberini, and the Galleria Nazionale Arte Moderna. A full list of the participating museums can be found on this w[ebsite](https://www.livetheworld.com/post/domenica-al-museo-ingresso-gratuito-per-tutti-nei-musei-statali-la-prima-domenica-del-mese.html).

|"The Museums of Rome" series by Vy Tran

Other Roman museums worth visiting are the Galleria Borghese and the Musei Capitolini. While the Galleria Borghese and Galleria Nazionale Arte Moderna are in the free Sunday museum program, unfortunately, the Musei Capitolini is not.

Cover picture: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna | Credit: rarrarorro on iStock