The Body of the City: Fashion and the Arts between Liberty and | inItaly | Ambasciatori del Territorio – inItaly

The Body of the City: Fashion and the Arts between Liberty and Modernity (1884–1961)

Palazzo Madama hosts an exhibition that explores more than seventy years of Turin’s history by focusing on the body as a lens to read social, cultural and aesthetic transformations. Fashion, visual arts and archival documents are put in dialogue to show how dress and artistic practice shaped the city’s identity

The exhibition is curated by Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, Maria Paola Ruffino and Gregorio Thaon di Revel Mazzonis, with scientific consultancy by Clelia Arnaldi di Balme. The itinerary is organized in four sections, from the 1884 General Italian Exposition to Italy ’61, highlighting the intersections between body, fashion and urban space

What to see

• More than forty garments from Turin workshops that document local production and the role of women in the clothing industry.
• Paintings and sculptures portraying urban life between the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by notable Turin artists.
• Photographs, posters and archival records linking major public expositions to urban and industrial change.
• Highlights on key moments: the 1884 exposition, early 20th-century showcases, the 1920s–30s, and the postwar period up to 1961.

Why visit

The exhibition offers an original view of Turin as a living organism in transformation, where fashion functions as a language to interpret economic, identity and cultural shifts. It shows how the body—styled, represented and regulated—reveals broader changes in city life

Practical information

• Dates: from 15 October 2026 to 22 February 2027
• Venue: Palazzo Madama, Turin
• Opening hours: Monday and Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00; closed on Tuesday. Ticket office closes one hour before the museum.
• Info phone: +39 0114433501 (Mara Martellotta)

Recommended for visitors interested in fashion history, visual arts and urban studies. The exhibition provides insights for both general audiences and cultural professionals

Where it is

Location: P.za Castello, 10122 Torino TO, Italia

Coordinates: 45.0710722, 7.685478