What’s on in Rome this week, 5–11 October 2026: this is the week of the big autumn openings. Keith Haring at Palazzo Braschi on Tuesday, Pontormo at the Scuderie del Quirinale and Richard Avedon at Palazzo delle Esposizioni on Friday; the FAI Autumn Days on Saturday and Sunday. And on Sunday 11 the Vermeer at Palazzo Barberini closes, along with four other shows. Each entry links to its EstateRomana listing (in Italian) for hours, addresses and tickets.
The TourLeaderPro agenda comes out twice a week: Monday for the week, Thursday for the weekend. The full calendar, updated daily, is at EstateRomana – all events in Rome and EstateRomana – current exhibitions.
This week’s openings
| When | Exhibition | Where and until when |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 6 | Keith Haring | Museo di Roma – Palazzo Braschi, until 11 April 2027. Tuesday to Sunday 10am–7pm, last entry one hour before closing; closed Mondays. Full price 17 euros, reduced 15. |
| Friday 9 | Pontormo | Scuderie del Quirinale, until 7 February 2027. Open 10am–8pm, last entry 7pm. |
| Friday 9 | Richard Avedon. In the American West | Palazzo delle Esposizioni, until 31 January 2027. |
| Friday 9 | Picabia, Morellet and Sole Nero | Villa Medici, until 18 January 2027. |
Keith Haring brings more than 140 works from the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection to Rome: from the Subway Drawings to the political posters and the sculptures. For Pontormo, check the Scuderie’s official ticket office before you go: the first days of a show like this fill quickly.
Last days: closing on Sunday 11
- Vermeer, “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter”, Palazzo Barberini: the Rijksmuseum loan goes back to Amsterdam.
- Metamorfosi. Ovid and the arts, Galleria Borghese (booking compulsory).
- GAM 100, Galleria d’Arte Moderna.
- The Large Glass, curated by Alex Da Corte, MAXXI.
- Origine. The Madalena Negrone donation, National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Events, day by day
From the EstateRomana calendar:
- Monday 5 to Friday 9: Festival della Sapienza, Nuovo Teatro Ateneo.
- Wednesday 7: Babyshambles live at Orion Live Club.
- Thursday 8 to Monday 12: “Dal seme al cibo”, the FAO exhibition at the Circus Maximus.
- Friday 9 to Sunday 11: EurHop Roma Beer Festival, Salone delle Fontane.
- Saturday 10: Giornata del Contemporaneo, at MACRO and other Rome museums.
- Sunday 11: opening night of Falstaff at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, on stage until 1 November; Four Seasons Changed at Teatro Argentina for the Romaeuropa Festival.
- All month: free visits to the Pyramid of Cestius, by reservation, until 31 October.
Saturday 10 and Sunday 11: FAI Autumn Days
More than 700 places open in 350 towns, with visits by free donation. In Rome FAI opens, among others, Palazzo Piacentini, seat of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, with Mario Sironi’s stained-glass “Carta del Lavoro”, and by reservation Attrezzeria Rancati, the prop-making workshop that has worked for cinema from Neorealism to Hollywood. The full list with hours is on the official Giornate FAI website; how the visits work is explained in FAI Autumn Days 2026.
For those leading groups and guests
- See the Vermeer by Thursday: on its closing weekend Palazzo Barberini will be full.
- Keith Haring and Pontormo are crowded in their first days; for a discerning guest the second week is better, on a weekday at opening time.
- FAI Days are rarely bookable: you queue. With a group choose one place, not three.
Sources consulted on 2 October 2026: Museo di Roma – Keith Haring; Scuderie del Quirinale; Palazzo delle Esposizioni; Musei in Comune – exhibitions; FAI – Autumn Days 2026; the EstateRomana calendar. Dates, hours and prices can change: always check before you go.
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