Totally Rome
MAXXI — contemporary art in Zaha Hadid's building
Rome's national museum of 21st-century art, housed in one of the most striking pieces of modern architecture in the city.
The building
Designed by Zaha Hadid and completed in 2010, MAXXI (Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo) is itself the primary attraction for many visitors — flowing concrete forms, curved staircases and dramatically cantilevered volumes that stand in deliberate, confident contrast to the historic city a few kilometres away.
The collection
A rotating programme of contemporary Italian and international art and architecture exhibitions, alongside a permanent collection that includes major works from the postwar Italian avant-garde. The exhibitions change regularly — check the current programme before visiting, as the specific shows matter more than at a permanent-collection museum.
Why it's worth the trip
MAXXI sits slightly outside the usual tourist circuit, in the Flaminio district north of the centre — which means genuinely low crowds even for major exhibitions, and a completely different Rome experience from the ancient-and-Baroque default. Worth combining with the nearby Auditorium Parco della Musica, another significant piece of contemporary architecture.
