This article originally appeared in the October 2005 issue of Dream of Italy.
Milan‘s Palazzo Reale is now hosting the most important and complete Caravaggio exhibition ever realized. Caravaggio e l’Europa will display more than 150 masterpieces by Caravaggio and the so-called Caravaggisti — other Italian and European artists influenced by his shockingly aggressive and realistic themes. Museum officials are calling this exhibition Milan’s cultural event of the year. Caravaggio began his career at the end of the 16th century and quickly gained infamy for his radical lifestyle and revolutionary artwork. Curators believe Caravaggio’s depictions to be particularly pertinent to the violence that pervades today’s society. Visitors to the Palazzo Reale Museum will be able to see these works until February 6, 2006; the majority of the exhibition will then move to Vienna’s Liechtenstein Museum in March. Tickets for the full exhibition are 12 euros. For more information, call (39) 0254919 or visit www.comune.milano.it/palazzoreale. –S.M.