Milan Is Italy’s International Financial Capital, But Is It the Next Art Hotspot?

The recent news of Thaddaeus Ropac planting his flag in Milan has set off a flurry of articles and social media buzz, all heralding the city’s ascent as an international art hub. Already Italy’s financial nerve center and a global design capital—especially during its legendary design week—Milan’s strategic location, just over an hour from Venice and Florence, only adds to its allure.

Indeed, Milan has been on a remarkable upward trajectory over the past decade, a transformation that began with the 2015 World Expo and kicked into high gear post-pandemic, as international investors and capital flooded the city. Real estate values have not just risen—they’ve exploded. Properties within the city’s historic core have doubled, tripled and, in some cases, multiplied even further, with entire neighborhoods undergoing rapid revitalization. Fueling this frenzy was Italy’s “Superbonus scheme,” a generous tax incentive designed to spur economic recovery by subsidizing property renovations. Before the Expo, a three-bedroom apartment just outside the city center could be had for less than $100,000; now, anything within the core commands well over a million.

The latest frontier in Milan’s reinvention is the district surrounding Fondazione Prada, the private museum conceived by OMA and helmed by Rem Koolhaas, which has transformed the once-industrial district south of Prada’s Milan outpost. Now dubbed SouPra (South of Prada), the area is in the throes of a full-scale metamorphosis into a high-end residential and business hub. Anchoring this transformation is the redevelopment of the Porta Romana railway yard, soon to be home to the 2026 Winter Olympics Athletes’ Village. And with the Milano/Cortina d’Ampezzo Games just two years away, the city’s infrastructure boom shows no signs of slowing, adding even more fuel to Milan’s red-hot real estate market.

The surge in living costs is largely being driven by foreign capital, particularly from the U.K., alongside significant interest from U.S. and Gulf investors. Milan has become a prime beneficiary of Italy’s “non-dom” tax regime, introduced in 2017, which initially offered wealthy new residents a flat €100,000 annual tax rate on foreign income—recently increased to €200,000. Even with the hike, the policy remains enticing, especially as Brexit continues to send Italian expatriates back home and London-based financiers eye Milan as a more livable alternative to their own high-intensity grind. With Labour poised to scrap the U.K.’s non-domiciled tax rules, Milan is emerging as one of Europe’s next ultra-wealthy enclaves.

The flood of capital into a city doesn’t automatically translate into a flourishing art scene. While Milan is certainly drawing collectors and high-net-worth individuals with its economic perks and lifestyle appeal, its local art scene feels notably subdued—both in comparison to its own storied past and to other European cultural hubs. Over the past decade, the city’s art ecosystem seems to have suffered more from skyrocketing real estate prices and the gentrification that followed than it has gained from the influx of wealth.

That said, credit where it’s due—Mayor Beppe Sala’s administration has made significant efforts to bolster Milan’s cultural offerings, using a mix of institutional support and strategic initiatives. The city now boasts an expanding roster of themed “weeks”—Design Week, Music Week, Book Week, Food Week, Museum Week—each a calculated push to keep Milan culturally relevant on multiple fronts. Adding to the optimism, the appointment of Tommaso Sacchi as Milan’s Councilor of Culture raised hopes for a fresh renaissance, given his success in revitalizing Florence’s cultural scene through a cross-disciplinary approach to contemporary art. Yet, despite these efforts, the city’s art and cultural landscape still lags behind the broader economic boom, leaving the impression that Milan’s artistic pulse has yet to catch up with its financial heartbeat.

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Milan’s key contemporary art institutions—Fondazione Prada, Triennale di Milano and Hangar Bicocca—seem to have lost some of their former ambition, their programming now noticeably less daring than in previous years. The Triennale, long a global pillar of design, has notably scaled back its contemporary art focus, leaning instead into decorative arts, architecture and design, with only the occasional hybrid crossover. Meanwhile, Palazzo Reale and MUDEC, both privately managed by publishing giants Skira and 24 ORE Cultura, have settled comfortably into the blockbuster exhibition model, favoring crowd-pleasing retrospectives and household names over risk-taking curation.

In Piazza Scala, Gallerie d’Italia, operated by Banca Intesa—one of Italy’s most powerful financial institutions—continues to distinguish itself with rigorously curated exhibitions that weave together its own collection with high-profile loans from prestigious Italian and international museums. The institution maintains a thoughtful balance between old masters and contemporary art, offering a rare sense of continuity. Not far away, Museo Poldi Pezzoli has, in recent years, staged groundbreaking exhibitions that, for the first time, placed its renowned collection of old masters and antiques in dialogue with contemporary artists like Nicholas Party, producing striking juxtapositions. Meanwhile, after a three-year planning process, Museo del Novecento is on track to double its space by 2026. The ambitious expansion—set to materialize via an aerial walkway connecting the museum to the Second Arengario, overlooking Duomo Square.

Uncertainty in the Milanese art scene

Earlier this week, the international press swooned over the arrival of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Milan, treating its move into the grand neoclassical Palazzo Belgioioso—just minutes from the Duomo—as undeniable proof that the city is cementing its status as a global gallery hotspot. But in their rush to celebrate, most forgot to mention that Ropac is simply taking over the space vacated by Berlin-based Peres Projects. That gallery, which boldly entered the Milan market in 2022 just after the pandemic, has pulled out after only three years, refocusing on its Berlin headquarters and its new Seoul outpost—both of which have proven far more profitable and dyanamic.

Before Peres Projects, Palazzo Belgioioso housed MASSIMODECARLO, one of the few Milan-born galleries to achieve true international clout. Between 2019 and 2021, it even operated two locations in the city—until it, too, decided to scale back, consolidating operations at Casa Corbellini-Wassermann, a landmark 1930s rationalist villa designed by Portaluppi. The move was part of a broader strategic shift: rather than doubling down on Milan, MASSIMODECARLO opted to open a smaller space in Paris, betting on the French capital’s post-Brexit art boom instead.

Peres Projects, however, is hardly the first international player to test Milan’s waters and retreat. Lisson Gallery once had a striking Milan location near Leonardo’s Last Supper, which opened in 2011 and quietly shut its doors in 2017—well before COVID reshaped the market. “We closed to focus our efforts on opening in New York. Milan was wonderful, and artists loved the small space, but it was time to change where we put our energy,” Lisson’s chief executive Alex Logsdail told the Financial Times.

Following the announcement, Observer reached out to Thaddaeus Ropac, who remains steadfast in his belief that Milan is the right place for the gallery’s seventh outpost, set to open in early autumn. “Italy has played a significant role for the gallery and our artists for years—partly due to the Biennale and the simultaneous exhibitions in Venice. It feels natural to grow in Europe, and opening a gallery in Italy—in addition to our gallery locations in France, Austria and the UK—has been a goal for years,” Ropac told Observer. “Ultimately, the exciting art scene convinced us to come to Milan. Milan has outstanding academies, and historically, important art movements emerged in northern Italy in the last century, which still characterize the art scene today.” To lead the new venture, Ropac has tapped Elena Bonanno di Linguaglossa, who brings deep experience in the Italian market from her previous role as senior director for Italy at LGDR.

Asked how Milan fits into the gallery’s global strategy, Ropac emphasized its potential as an inspiring setting for artists. “When we discussed our plans to open a gallery in Milan with our artists, they were all very excited to show their works in this incredible city,” he said. “Of course, the area also has a great dynamic with sophisticated collectors, and we look forward to being an active part of the city’s art scene.” Confident that the Milan space will expand opportunities for his roster, Ropac highlighted the chance to introduce new voices to the Italian market. “We are particularly looking forward to giving some of our artists their very first exhibitions in Italy; otherwise, the exhibitions will reflect our overall program of artists we represent.”

The Milanese art scene’s is hamstrung by waning energy

Examining Milan’s gallery scene, it’s clear that a certain energy—once palpable—vanished during the pandemic and has yet to fully return. The city has fewer than a hundred galleries operating across levels, ranging from long-established players in the Italian market to emerging newcomers, yet most have scaled back significantly in recent years. Where galleries once rotated shows on a brisk monthly schedule, exhibitions now linger longer, and the once-constant stream of nightly openings has slowed to a trickle.

Still, stalwarts like MASSIMODECARLO, Gió Marconi, Cardi Gallery and Kaufmann Repetto continue to maintain strong, internationally oriented programs, regularly appearing at fairs like Art Basel and Frieze. Meanwhile, some of Italy’s historic dealers seem noticeably sluggish, struggling to keep pace with an increasingly globalized art world. At the same time, a new generation of gallerists—Tommaso Calabro, Eastcontemporary, ArtNoble, LUPO — LORENZELLI and Plan X—has emerged with compelling programs that, in many cases, have earned them a foothold at international fairs.

Yet some of Milan’s once-thriving art districts have faded. Lambrate, which flourished in the years leading up to the pandemic by repurposing vast industrial spaces, now counts only a handful of survivors—Francesca Minini, Prometeo Gallery and ArtNoble among them.

Another key factor stalling the growth of Italy’s art scene is that many Milanese galleries continue to favor international artists, especially in the emerging market. As a result, the city’s contemporary art ecosystem struggles to nurture a new generation of Italian talent. The few who do break through have often already established themselves abroad—where, ironically, the cost of living is often no more prohibitive than Milan’s skyrocketing rents for studios and apartments, thanks to relentless gentrification. This, combined with the country’s increasingly conservative political climate, has led to a noticeable decline in independent and artist-run spaces.

Meanwhile, Milan has caught the attention of several international galleries. Benjamin Trigano, founder of Los Angeles-based M+B, has been teasing his latest project on Instagram—overseeing renovations in a historic Milanese palazzo that will soon house the gallery’s first European outpost. Ben Brown Fine Arts is also eyeing a move, capitalizing on Milan’s robust market for Italian masters like Alighiero Boetti and Lucio Fontana, who remain hot commodities in the secondary market. Last year, Lehmann Maupin tested Milan’s waters with a pop-up on Via della Spiga, the city’s high-fashion corridor, showcasing artists from its roster with concurrent regional museum exhibitions. Mendes Wood DM has also engaged with Milan in recent years, hosting three exhibitions in 2020 featuring Cristina Canale, Vojtěch Kovařík and Brice Guilbert, as well as an immersive sound installation by Paulo Nazareth at Villa Era—a stately 19th-century estate between Milan and Turin. Yet despite their presence, both Mendes Wood DM and Lehmann Maupin seem more interested in targeted collector engagement than in establishing permanent spaces.

At the institutional level, Milan’s flagship April art fair, miart, remains one of Italy’s most internationally connected events, drawing 180 galleries from twenty-eight countries last year. Among the foreign participants were Galerie Buchholz (Cologne, Berlin), Emanuela Campoli (Paris, Milan), Fabienne Levy (Lausanne, Geneva), Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro), Greengrassi (London) and Galerie Neu (Berlin). However, compared to its strongest years—particularly under Vincenzo de Bellis (now Art Basel’s Director of Fairs and Exhibition Platforms) and later Alessandro Rabottini (Artistic Director, Fondazione In Between Art Film)—the fair has become increasingly Italy-focused. It continues to struggle in attracting major international galleries and, more critically, in drawing collectors who would travel to Milan specifically for the event.

It’s clear that international galleries continue to see value in the Italian art market, which, while relatively small, remains active and well-funded. Much of this wealth comes from Milan’s deep-rooted industrial dynasties—families who have powered the city’s economy and fueled Italy’s postwar recovery. Their legacy of collecting, often spanning generations, keeps the market lively, even if it hasn’t yet reached the scale of other European capitals.

Yet for all its potential, the Italian art market still faces significant roadblocks to true internationalization. Chief among them is Italy’s notoriously slow and convoluted bureaucracy, which makes establishing and running a business an exercise in endurance. Then there’s the Value Added Tax (VAT), one of the highest in the EU at 22 percent—an ongoing pain point for dealers and collectors alike. However, with the new EU directive that took effect on January 1, there’s renewed hope that years of debate might finally push the Italian government to reconsider its tax policies and bring them more in line with competing art hubs.

As Milan continues to expand its global footprint, the city has all the makings of a major European art hub. But the real challenge isn’t just attracting international players—it’s ensuring that growth translates into a sustainable, thriving cultural ecosystem at every level. Without that, Milan risks becoming just another marketplace rather than a true center for the production and exchange of contemporary art.