Elisa Montessori. Nel corso del tempo

From 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, the Museums of Villa Torlonia - Casino dei Principi present an exhibition tracing the work of the highly regarded and refined Italian artist.

Conceived as a self-portrait, the exhibition highlights Elisa Montessori’s entire artistic history, structured as a single, great narrative that brings together reconstructions, installations and different moments of her personal life and her intense experimentation, creating a dialogue between works differing in technique, period and size, yet bound together by visual, artistic, scientific and poetic references.

From her beginnings in post-war Rome, the exhibition covers over seventy years of the vast production of the artist, who, whilst engaging with the languages of contemporary art, has maintained complete expressive independence: a versatile and original representative of an entire era, with a passionate interest in literature, philosophy, Eastern culture and scientific research, who created a free and experimental artistic style, exploring different techniques, from ceramics to mosaics, from oil painting to the use of paper and pigments.

On display are over a hundred works – oil paintings, drawings and books, site-specific installations and items on loan from public and private collections – enriched by a selection of audiovisual material, such as the documentary film 'Montessori' (2004) by Francesco Vaccaro, the documentary video 'Elisa Montessori' (2020), presented by Monitor with an interview by Davide Ferri and directed by Mario Poeta, as well as the video interview 'Gli amici di Titina Maselli | Elisa Montessori' (2025), curated by Federica Pirani and Claudio Crescentini.

The exhibition project, conceived by Elisa Montessori and co-curated by Alessandra Mammì and Federica Pirani, is promoted by Roma Capitale, the Assessorato alla Cultura e al Coordinamento delle iniziative riconducibili alla Giornata della Memoria – Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, in collaboration with Galleria Monitor. Organisation and museum services are provided by Zètema Progetto Cultura.

Image: Elisa Montessori, Campi Elisi, 1994, oil and graphite on canvas, 142,5 x 122,5 cm, Photo credits: Giorgio Benni, Courtesy the artist and Galleria Monitor Roma|Lisbona|Pereto (AQ)