Angels at the Capitoline Museums, May 13, 2026 to January 10, 2027

In short. From May 13, 2026 to January 10, 2027, the Capitoline Museums, at Piazza del Campidoglio 1 in Rome, host the exhibition “Angeli.

Illustrazione ad acquerello generata con intelligenza artificiale

Illustrazione generata con intelligenza artificiale: non è una fotografia di Musei Capitolini, sale piano terra di Palazzo dei Conservatori né dell'evento.

From May 13, 2026 to January 10, 2027, the Capitoline Museums, at Piazza del Campidoglio 1 in Rome, host the exhibition “Angeli. Messaggeri, custodi e viandanti, le sublimi creature dall’Antico al Contemporaneo” in the ground-floor rooms of Palazzo dei Conservatori. Admission is with the combined ticket for the Capitoline Museums and the exhibition: 16.50 euros full price and 11 euros reduced for non-residents, free with the MIC card.

Capitoline Museums: watercolor illustration of a exhibition hall with large abstract canvases and visitors — AI-generated illustration: not a photograph of Musei Capitolini, sale piano terra di Palazzo dei Conservatori or of the event.

Updated November 6, 2026.

The event

The exhibition is documentary and traces the iconographic evolution of angels, figures that link the human to the divine and invite reflection on the visible and the invisible. The route runs from archaeology to 21st-century works, with references to the early Christian tradition, and dwells on how in the modern age images of angels grew closer to people and were reinterpreted symbolically between the 19th and 20th centuries.

The curators dedicated it to Pope Francis, one year after his death, linking his idea of serving others to the role of angels as a bridge between heaven and earth.

The route is divided into three sections: “I Messaggeri” (Messengers), angels who bring the announcement and hope, from the biblical narrative to Renaissance depictions; “I Custodi” (Guardians), who watch over and protect; and “I Viandanti” (Wayfarers), who guide and accompany people through difficulties. Within the sections are subthemes such as putti, Annunciations, warrior archangels, guardian angels, traveling angels and musician angels.

Highlighted works include “L’Angelo Custode” by Pietro da Cortona (1656), from the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini, “L’Angelo annunziante” by Carlo Dolci (c. 1650), on loan from the Uffizi, and “San Matteo con l’Angelo” by Guercino (1622), already in the Capitoline collections. From the Fondo Edifici di Culto of the Ministry of the Interior comes the “Angelo Custode” by Giovanni Antonio Galli, known as Lo Spadarino (c. 1620), normally kept in the church of San Rufo in Rieti and part of a group of works on divine protection titled “Uno sguardo dall’alto.” For the 20th century and the present there are works from private collections, including “Blu oltremare” and “Ri-annunciazione di una annunciazione” by Omar Galliani and “L’Angelo ribelle su fondo blu cupo” by Osvaldo Licini.

Loans come from the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, the Museo di Roma, the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence and the Musei del Bargello, the Uffizi Galleries, the Intesa Sanpaolo and BNL BNP Paribas collections, the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome, the Musei Nazionali di Perugia and the Direzione Regionale Musei Nazionali dell’Umbria, the Pinacoteca Capitolina, the Museo Barracco and the Fondo Edifici di Culto. Some works, held by private institutions, families or foundations, are not normally accessible to the public.

The curators are Massimo Rossi Ruben and Viviana Vannucci. The exhibition is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura e al Coordinamento delle iniziative riconducibili alla Giornata della Memoria, and by the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni culturali, and is organized by the Centro Europeo per il Turismo e la Cultura, chaired by Giuseppe Lepore, with museum services by Zètema Progetto Cultura. The catalogue, published by Gangemi Editore in 2026, runs 204 pages and is in Italian.

Where it takes place: Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums occupy Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo on the Capitoline Hill; the exhibition is set up in the ground-floor rooms of Palazzo dei Conservatori. For another exhibition at the museum, see the page on Diego Rivera at the Capitoline Museums. The combined ticket does not give access to the exhibitions at Villa Caffarelli.

Practical information

Dates: from May 13, 2026 to January 10, 2027.
Venue: Capitoline Museums, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Piazza del Campidoglio 1, 00186 Rome.
Hours: daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., last entry one hour before closing.
Tickets: sold online; combined museum and exhibition ticket, 16.50 euros full price and 11 euros reduced for non-residents; free with the MIC card for residents with proof of residence; free or reduced with the Roma Pass.
Information: 060608, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Getting there: use the ATAC route planner.