While every tourist in Rome fights for Borghese Gallery tickets, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea sits 200 meters away in Villa Borghese park with Monet, Klimt, Canova, Modigliani, De Chirico, Balla, and Burri — and almost nobody inside. Founded in 1883, GNAM holds the national collection of modern and contemporary art: 20,000 works spanning the 19th-21st centuries, displayed in a vast neoclassical palace. Rome guide →
Plan my Rome trip →The Italian 19th century: Canova's Hercules and Lichas (a dynamic marble group showing the moment before a man is thrown into the sea), Fattori's macchiaioli landscapes, Morelli. International: Monet's Water Lilies (yes, in Rome), Klimt, Van Gogh's Gardener, Cézanne, Courbet, Degas. The Italian 20th century: De Chirico's metaphysical piazzas, Balla's Futurist dynamism, Modigliani's elongated portraits, Morandi's silent bottles, Fontana's slashes, Burri's sacks and plastics, Manzoni. Contemporary wings: rotating exhibitions of international contemporary art. The collection is massive and uncrowded — you'll spend time with paintings, not elbows.
Address: Viale delle Belle Arti 131, Villa Borghese (tram 3/19, or walk from Piazza del Popolo 15min). Tickets: €12. Hours: Tue-Sun 9am-7pm. Closed Mondays. Duration: 1.5-2 hours. Combine with: Galleria Borghese (10min walk), Villa Borghese park, MAXXI (tram 2, 10min), Piazza del Popolo.