Milano The 2025 Christmas Exhibition opens at Palazzo Marino: the Monte San Martino Polyptych by the Crivelli brothers is on display.

From December 3 to January 11, 2026, the great Christmas Exhibition returns to Palazzo Marino , one of the most eagerly awaited cultural events for Milanese residents and visitors.

The traditional exhibition, set up in the evocative Sala Alessi , offers a unique opportunity this year: to admire the Monte San Martino Polyptych by Carlo and Vittore Crivelli , one of the most important masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.

The polyptych, dated around 1490 , is composed of ten panels and a predella with Christ blessing among the apostles.

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The work's fulcrum is the Virgin and Child , an image that recalls the Christmas Mystery and conveys intense spirituality. The work, rarely moved from its original location in the church of San Martino Vescovo (Macerata), is exceptionally reassembled and presented to the public.

An extraordinary cultural event

The Councilor for Culture Tommaso Sacchi He calls the exhibition "a gift to the city," emphasizing the rarity of the Crivellis' work and the value of its full display in the Sala Alessi. The initiative is also part of the program “Christmas in the Villages”, dedicated to the rediscovery of artistic treasures in the most peripheral neighborhoods of Milano.

Intesa Sanpaolo , a long-time partner of the initiative, reaffirms, through its president emeritus Giovanni Bazoli , the cultural value of the event and its contribution to the Milanese exhibition landscape, already enriched by the exhibitions dedicated to Neoclassicism at the Palazzo Reale and the Gallerie d'Italia.

For Rinascente , as explained by Managing Director Mariella Elia , the collaboration represents a commitment to the valorization of culture and aesthetic experience, a reflection of the “Keep It Beautiful” manifesto.

An immersive and scenographic installation

The exhibition project, conceived by the architect Corrado Anselmi , includes a path divided into two moments:

1. An initial immersive experience , through a luminous structure that displays high-definition images of the artwork's details. This semi-dark path introduces the main iconographic themes and guides the visitor through a slow and thoughtful reading.

2. The complete view of the Polyptych , placed in a large niche with diffused lighting that recalls the atmosphere of the original chapel. The contrast between the analytical observation and the final overall view offers a moment of synthesis and a strong emotional impact.

The exhibition is curated by John Morale e Marcello Smarrelli, and is included in the program of theCultural Olympiad of Milano Curtain 2026.

The Crivelli brothers and their connection with Milano

Originally from Venice, Carlo and Vittore Crivelli worked primarily in the Marche region, creating numerous gilded polyptychs now held in Italian and international museums. The Monte San Martino Polyptych is the only documented work on which they both collaborated.

Milano maintains a strong link with Carlo Crivelli, thanks also to the transfers of works that took place in the Napoleonic era: several tables are present today at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Castello Sforzesco and Museo Poldi Pezzoli.

The exhibition has free admission.

Art historians coordinated by Civita will accompany the public with free guided tours , available every day to delve deeper into the Crivellis' pictorial language and the historical context.

"Christmas in the Villages": art itineraries throughout the city

Alongside the Palazzo Marino exhibition, “Christmas in the Villages” also returns , the initiative that promotes 19 historical-artistic sites distributed across the nine Municipalities, with free visits from 13 December to 4 January.

The program includes: historic villages such as Figino, Monluè, and Trenno; medieval and Renaissance churches and abbeys; symbolic sites saved by the citizens, such as Santa Maria alla Fonte (Red Church) and San Protaso al Lorenteggio ; 20th-century architectural and pictorial masterpieces; places of great historical value such as the Certosa di Garegnano , Chiaravalle , San Cristoforo sul Naviglio, and Santa Maria Bianca della Misericordia.

The complete calendar and booking methods are available on the official channels of the Municipality of Milano and the Association of Ancient Milanese Villages.

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