Art exhibitions in South Tyrol

Exhibition on climate justice in the village square of Aldein from 17 - 27 July 2025 Interactive lecture with Verena Dariz employee OEW on Wednesday, 23 July 2025 at 8 pm on the village square in Alde

Sun, wine, and art – the perfect way to end a warm summer day. Enjoy a glass of white wine from the Cantina Valle Isarco in the unique atmosphere of the Hofburg Brixen. After this small aperitif, explore the Diocesan Museum with its countless objects and artworks from different eras. Admire the cathedral treasure and immerse yourself in a past full of splendour and grandeur in the imperial and episcopal wings. This event takes place on three dates in July: 10 July 2025 17 July 2025 31 July 2025 It begins at 7:00 PM – however, early arrival at the Hofburg is recommended. Participation costs €20.00 per person, no registration required. Please note: the guided tour is held in German and Italian only.

Giancarlo Lamonaca: RAUSCHEN In a world where digital images have become the dominant form of memory, the exhibition Rauschen (Noise) asks what is being lost. These are images in a state of transition, in which reminiscences of a digital archive reveal a different form of imagery. Their disturbances generate resistance—against the claim to completeness and against the smoothness of perfected image worlds. A digital palimpsest in which memory is not preserved or discarded, but transformed. Mozzarellalight: TO FADE IN Water, a floating matter and a moving organism, moves to the center of perception. It is no longer just a simple element, but a living body that changes over time and produces unstable and silent microsystems within itself. Every moment creates a new image, like a photograph that eludes capture. An apparition that cannot be captured, but only briefly reveals itself—only to disappear again immediately. The installation will be visible mainly in the dark hours of the day, as in a photographic process in which the image slowly appears on the film.

Psychocolonial Spaces: Act 1 is a project conceived and implemented by Samia Henni, and commissioned by Ar/Ge Kunst, to be held in Bolzano between 24 May and 2 August 2025. The project investigates the relationships between borders, territories and inhabited spaces, and Frantz Fanon’s (1925-1961) analysis of the psychology of colonialism. The project for Ar/Ge Kunst, Psychocolonial Spaces, is the first of a series of events that may be activated in various cities and places. Act 1 sets out from the analysis of the invisible and invisibilized spaces of segregation and alienation across the territory of Bolzano and its surroundings: colonial traces, monuments and streets, places that even today have an impact on people’s lives. But what comes to mind when we think of ‘psychocolonial’ spaces? How do they affect us and how do we recognize them? How does our body absorb the violence of these spaces and how do our education, origins and attitude change the way we think about these places? What emerges when we deviate from binary systems of thought and organization? Samia Henni (1980, DZ/CH) is a writer, historian, and an exhibition maker of the built, destroyed and imagined environments and their relationship with the practices of colonization, war and environmental contamination. Her most recent research has culminated in the exhibitions Performing Colonial Toxicity (2023–; Amsterdam, Zurich, London, Providence, Paris, Berlin, Ottawa), Housing Pharmacology (2020–21; Marseille, Paris), Discreet Violence: Architecture and the French War in Algeria (2017–2022; Zurich, Rotterdam, Berlin, Johannesburg, Paris, Prague, Ithaca and Philadelphia), as well as in the books Colonial Toxicity: Rehearsing French Radioactive Architecture and Landscape in the Sahara (EN, 2024, 2025; FR, 2025), and Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria (EN, 2017, 2022; FR, 2019); and the volumes Deserts Are Not Empty (EN, 2022, 2025; IT, 2024) and War Zones (2018) of which she was the editor. This project is made possible with the support of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

This photo exhibition by Gian Vincenzo Cerlini brings colours to life, which he discovers at sometimes unexpected angles in the seemingly inconspicuous.

Simple and linear forms define the artistic work of Andreas Senoner, whose journey as a woodturner began two years ago. For Senoner, the work begins long before he actually starts turning at the lathe. Always in search of special pieces of wood, the creative craftsman finds his raw material on farms and in the surrounding forests—some finds he even brings back from his travels. Nature also serves as a source of inspiration for Senoner when it comes to shapes and colors. Some pieces are burned, others treated in different ways, but the artist always manages to preserve the true value of the wood and its natural appearance. The shape, the color, the growth structure: everything is made and kept visible, revealing the story of the tree from which the finished piece has grown. Andreas Senoner (born 1962 in Selva di Val Gardena) began learning the carpentry trade at the age of 14. In the workshop, he discovered his passion for wood—a passion that has never left him. The shapes and colors of trees, the vitality and power of branches that defy wind and weather, hold a deep fascination for him. From this fascination grew the desire to learn the art of woodturning. Shortly after retiring, Andreas Senoner acquired a lathe and quickly realized he had found his true calling. “It’s incredibly exciting to observe how a piece of wood transforms through my work. My many years of experience as a carpenter help me to understand the properties of the wood and what I can create from it,” says the artist.

Art exhibition with works from the artists in the gallery "GefängnisLeCarceri".

Discover the Nature Park – We're open longer for you! Visit the Nature Park House and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of nature! To ensure you can enjoy your visit in a relaxed manner, we've extended our opening hours on Thursdays. We look forward to your visit!

The exhibition showcases the South Tyrolean section of the UNESCO World Heritage site. The photographs strikingly highlight the beauty of this landscape and its geological significance. The large-format images are freely accessible in the outdoor area of the Visitor Center.

Acquired over the past decade, these videos are being showcased at Museion for the first time, exploring memory through the medium’s experimental techniques, such as loops, overlays, and flickering. As video art remains a vital part of contemporary museums, Museion has actively expanded its collection, embracing this dynamic medium to uncover new meanings through the layering of visual and narrative languages. Currently, the museum holds 167 video works, including 28 installations and 139 single-channel films, which form a crucial part of its 4,450-piece collection. This focus dates back to a pivotal moment in 2007-2008 when Museion acquired 52 video works through the Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) in New York. Since then, video art has remained a key area of growth, serving as a bridge between historical narratives, experimental storytelling, technological innovation, and an intergenerational artistic language. At the heart of this exhibition is an exploration of time and the ghostly presence of the past. The selected videos delve into themes of remembrance and transformation, using archival footage, found materials, and visual distortions to challenge conventional storytelling. Like archaeologists unearthing forgotten histories, the featured artists employ montage, appropriation, and layering to craft narratives that challenge the linearity of time. These latest additions to the Museion collection not only strengthen its role as a contemporary art institution but also hold particular value for the local region. By continuously expanding its video archive, Museion ensures that South Tyrol remains a hub for contemporary artistic discourse, fostering connections between global narratives and local cultural heritage. The exhibition, therefore, serves as a dynamic platform for engaging with the past while reinterpreting it through modern artistic lens. Videos on display: Korakrit Arunanondchai, Untitled (Painting with History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 3), 2015 Barbara Gamper, Becoming Otherwise (hot pink triangles and holes, or how to become woman?), 2020 James Richards, Qualities of Life: Living in the Radiant Cold, 2022 Berty Skuber, Epicycles, 2013

The exhibition sheds light on the Peasants' War and its prehistory using archival documents from around 1500, focussing on the social, political and economic aspects of life before and during the peasant uprisings. Through the presentation of archival documents from the Diocesan Archives, works of art and everyday objects, perspectives on the Peasants' War that have been little illuminated to date are shown in order to visualise the multi-layered nature of the historical events and their complex causes. The exhibition builds a bridge between past and present and encourages reflection on the continuity of social upheaval.

Living heritage of the Dolomites The travelling exhibition with 20 impressive panels was designed for the 50th anniversary of the Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Park. The open-air exhibition shows pictures of the impressive landscape of the nature park and the diversity of flora and fauna. The exhibition also tells of the beginnings of the mountain refuges and of the people who live and work in the nature park.

In March 2025, Museion will present a landmark exhibition about the relationship between graffiti and contemporary fine art. The first museum exhibition in Italy to investigate the art history of spray paint, Graffiti focuses on how the visual vernacular of the city and the street has entered the studio. Above all, the show contends that graffiti is a way of seeing and experiencing urban landscapes. Bringing together transdisciplinary works from across a 75 year period, the show centers on an approach that moves beyond the historization of graffiti as an “outsider” practice. Beginning with pre-graffiti spray paintings from the 1950s and 1960s, the exhibition unfolds through works by renowned graffiti writers of the 1980s, and contemporary artists who implement graffiti into their diverse practices. Spray paint, the tool which characterizes contemporary graffiti, was patented in the United States in 1951. Between its introduction as a product in the 1950s and the late 1960s – when the form of graffiti that is widely recognized today was first practiced – there was a lapse of almost 20 years, during which fine artists also experimented with the tool. Once spray paint became the dominant style for graffiti writing, its subsequent use in any capacity became tied to graffiti. A simple line of spray paint immediately calls to mind associations with rebellion and urbanity, whether this is intentional or not. Occupying 1,500 square meters across the two largest floors of Museion, the show features key works from the latter half of the 20th Century until the present day, as well as site-specific new works. Graffiti takes – as its point of departure – works from the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Hedda Sterne, David Smith, Martin Barré, Dan Christensen, Carol Rama, and Charlotte Posenenske. In juxtaposition are spray paint on canvas works by seminal graffiti writers such as Rammellzee, Futura 2000, Blade, and Lee Quiñones. A selection of significant 1980s and 1990s paintings, which clearly reference or incorporate graffiti, by Lady Pink & Jenny Holzer, Martin Wong & LA2, and Keith Haring, is followed by more recent examples of spray paintings by Heike-Karin Föll, Michael Krebber, and Christopher Wool. Digital tag drawings by Georgie Nettell meet Patricia L. Boyd’s photogram of a bus shelter and Karin Sander’s Patina Paintings, among many other works. This part of the exhibition further includes artworks by contemporary graffiti writers such as Kunle Martins and WANTO, and a new piece by N.O.Madski in dialogue with sculptures by KAYA. The exhibition continues in the form of a city scape, occupied by various works incorporating urban realities. This includes films and photography by Charles Atlas and Manuel DeLanda, as well as numerous large-scale installations and sculptures such as Klara Lidén’s readymade trash cans and junction boxes, or Josephine Pryde’s New Media Express, a model train covered in miniature graffiti. Graffiti methods of mark making are reflected in R.I.P. Germain’s sculpture of a false storefront, a new wall installation by Matias Faldbakken, and street casts by Alix Vernet. This exhibition inaugurates a new long-term Museion research project which focuses on soft and non-violent forms of resistance – and art as a social and urban practice. The exhibition is co-curated by New York based artist and archivist Ned Vena (b. 1982 Boston, USA). His artistic practice, which involves paintings, sculptures, installations, and films, was deeply informed by his active practice as a graffiti writer and his profound research into the history of graffiti; and vice versa, his thorough studies of the history of painting also shaped his understanding of graffiti. Both his personal dedication and cross-disciplinary archival knowledge manifest in the exhibition.

Art meets history: an exciting joint exhibition with artists from Val Gardena/Gröden to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the SS hostages in Villabassa. Artistic creation, whether in wood, on canvas or through photography, as a fragile fragment of freedom.

"The Red Boat. Artists Against Violence Towards Women" is a social art project promoted by the Südtiroler Künstlerbund and the Verein Erlebnis Pragser Wildsee, in collaboration with the Provincial Committee for Equal Opportunities. This important initiative brings together the works of 18 South Tyrolean artists who address the issue of gender-based violence. The winning piece, Floating Angel by Indra Moroder, is a compelling short film shot at Lake Braies featuring the iconic red boat. To complement the project, an exclusive set of artistic postcards has been created: 18 postcards showcasing the participating artists' works. The initiative, supporting women's empowerment, is backed by the Foundation Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano. From July 18 to September 30, 2025, the exhibition The Red Boat – Artists Against Violence Towards Women will be on display at the Cassa di Risparmio building in Walther Square, Bolzano. The opening will take place on Thursday, July 17 at 6:00 PM. Please register by July 15, 2025 by emailing info@kuenstlerbund.org. Curator: Lisa Trockner, Südtiroler Künstlerbund Fundraising: Verein Erlebnis Pragser Wildsee © Organizers, authors, and participating artists Participating artists: Gino Alberti + Katrin Böge, AliPaloma, Julia Bornefeld, Wil-ma Kammerer, Ingrid Klauser, Brigitte Knapp, Hubert Kostner, Sophie Lazari, Katharina Theresa Mayr, Sissa Micheli + Thomas Riess, Indra Moroder, Elisabeth Oberrauch + Simone Oberrauch + Massimo Bertinelli, Laura Pan + Valeria Befani + Silvia Quatrocchi, Lissy Pernthaler, Petra Polli + Giancarlo Lamonaca, Sylvie Riant, Werner Seidl, Matthias Schönweger

The exhibition NATURAL ELEMENTS, taking place from May 31 to October 19, 2025, in Seis am Schlern, presents a selection of works by Ahrntal artist Alois Steger.

Working with multimedia, the artist, together with curator Eva von Ingram Harpf, has selected seven artworks for the village center of this Dolomite village, which integrate symbiotically into the historical setting.

Created from natural elements and materials, the works are designed to gradually change over the course of the exhibition due to weathering.

"Boom '70" takes you back to a time of upheaval and economic growth in South Tyrol during the 1970s and 1980s. Modern travelers now arrive by car, reaching even more remote regions. The number of overnight stays explodes, rising from ten to twenty million – mass tourism is here. In the exhibition, contemporary witnesses share stories of the clash between contrasting worlds: industry meets tourism, poverty meets prosperity, church meets bikini. It’s about first encounters with strangers, new roles for women, and friendships across borders – but also about stress, construction frenzy, and tough working conditions.

Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of the Dolomites and experience an unforgettable guided tour of the Nature Park House in San Vigilio. Let yourself be enchanted by the breathtaking landscape, the rich flora and fauna, the mysterious cave world and the exciting stories about the nature park.

The family seat of the Counts of Meran in Tyrol is still owned and occupied by the same family today. Historically entwined in the history and fortunes of South Tyrol, Schenna Castle is one of the finest of its many forts and castles. Information and reservation: www.schloss-schenna.com Further dates: Tuesday to Friday: at 11.30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This topic will be the focus of our staircase exhibition starting April 1st. This unique exhibition offers a visionary investigation of how travelling might develop and grow in the 21st century and beyond. Using AI images and illustrations, the Touriseum offers a glimpse into the future of travelling. This uncertain future comes to life, prompting reflection and even dreaming. Let yourself be inspired as you explore the possibilities and challenges of the coming age of travel. “The Future of Travelling” presents a collection of creative short texts and their artistic interpretations that will challenge the limits of our imagination. From hypermodern means of transport to sustainable travel options and virtual travel experiences, the exhibition explores a variety of themes that might shape travelling in the coming decades.

Michael Höllrigl’s expressive stone and bronze sculptures will adorn the gardens of the Kränzelhof in 2025, true to his motto “The hand knows more than the head.” “Letting you dream on and on” is the goal of the sculpture exhibition. Whether it’s nearly untouched wilderness or an enchanting cultural landscape, gardens represent the longing for paradise: Tamed nature and untamed inner worlds meet and perhaps grow together. In a place shaped by the interplay of nature and culture, like the Kränzelhof, the things of nature and the things of art point to each other in a way that echoes Joseph von Eichendorff’s immortal line from the poem “Wünschelrute”: “A song sleeps in all things, which dream on and on...” Organisation Kulturverein K.art. 15.00-18.00 (free admission) Price: Garden entry

Curated by Frida Carazzato In collaboration with the Fondazione Bonotto and Patrizio Peterlini’s curatorial advice Exhibition and graphic design: SS16 Studio and AndreaTabocchiniArchitecture Press preview: 11.04.2025, 11:00 am Opening: 11.04.2025, 7:00 pm Museion Passage and Piccolo Museion - Cubo Garutti Museion continues to research and explore its own collection by presenting You and the Night and the Music – Francesco Conz Editions from the Museion Collection, an exhibition dedicated to art editions, especially those of Francesco Conz, one of the key figures in the promotion and artistic production of international neo-avant-gardes in Italy. Curated by Frida Carazzato with the collaboration of the Fondazione Bonotto, through the curatorial advice of Patrizio Peterlini, the exhibition uses the museum collection to explore the cultural legacy and artistic vision of Francesco Conz. This important figure, who worked with Fluxus, Visual Poetry and Concrete Poetry artists, played a decisive role in disseminating these artistic practices in Italy and abroad. The title of the exhibition is taken from a work by Gerhard Rühm, a visual artist, musician, poet and co-founder of the Wiener Gruppe, and one of the first artists with whom Francesco Conz began producing large-format editions. The “You and the Night and the Music” title stimulates reflections on the relationship between art, time and the links between artists, collectors and museum institutions. The conjunction “and” in the artwork becomes, in the title of the exhibition, a metaphor for both the network of cultural connections that has given rise to one of the main hubs in the Museion collection and the figure of Conz, whose passion bound together artistic and human experiences. A number of collectors and art critics, in fact, have played a fundamental role in the history of the museum collection. People like Paolo Della Grazia, who donated his collection to the museum in 2020, Luigi Bonotto, Henry Martin and many others, have helped to create an artistic heritage that is now an essential reference point for the study of neo-avant-gardes. Thanks to their activities, Museion has been able to enrich its collection with a body of works that bears witness to the value of publishing and screenprint production as a means of disseminating contemporary art. The exhibition is located in the central area of Museion Passage, a space designed to host dynamic installations that are open to the public. The central and corner sections – the latter can be visited until November 16 2025 – present a selection of screenprints on canvas produced by Conz and designed to be easy to transport and exhibit in various contexts. These works interact through videos, artists’ multiples and other editions to create an experience that reflects on the art of publishing both as an artistic tool and as an effective space of cross-genre exchange, in harmony with the Fluxus spirit.

Dolomythos-Museum at Innichen presents: Women scientists Many women, hardly mentioned in earlier times, made important contributions. We honour these often forgotten personalities, as well as the reserches of ordinary people from the valleys.

On the occasion of the birthday of Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, Schnalstal Valley celebrates Listening Day with a rich program of activities dedicated to listening, silence and landscape perception. The day aims to enhance the intangible and landscape heritage of the Senales Valley by offering two events open to young and old, inviting them to a unique expe-rience of art, nature and creativity. Program: Dance workshop for adults ‘Listen to the inner melodies’ 🕓 18th July from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. 📍 Campus Transhumanz, Unser Frau/Madonna di Senales, Schnalstal Valley The workshop led by Johanna Delago is for adults and is dedicated to listening to one's inner world and surroundings transforming perceptions and emotions into movement. Self-per-ception, space and relationships will be the key elements in the exploration. PERFORMER: Johanna Delago (Bolzano), Feldenkrais practitioner, Improvisational Dance and Somatic Experiencing i.F. PARTICIPANTS: max. 25 people BRING WITH YOU: comfortable clothing, comfortable shoes, blanket or cushion to sit on and water Silent book workshop for children 🕓18 July from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. 📍 archeoParc, Unser Frau/Madonna di Senales, Schnalstal Valley Veronica Rastelli will accompany the children in the creation of a silent book, devoid of dialogue or words, made not only of paper, but also of leaves, berries, withered flowers, wood fragments and twigs. These very special pages will silently show the world as seen through the eyes of children and will also transform our gaze. TRAINER: Veronica Rastelli, Italian-Swiss, graduated in Painting and Restoration of Antique Tex-tiles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples ➔ SOLD OUT Performance ‘Oltrepassare’ - Movement, sound, landscape 🕓 18th July at 2 p.m. 📍 Fountain in the center square in Certosa, Schnalstal Valley A performance walk by the Trentino company AZIONIfuoriPOSTO combining movement, sculpture and sound. Two performers, equipped with sound sculptures, transform footsteps and the terrain into a soundscape and insinuate themselves into the audience who, walking with them, share the same physical, aesthetic and emotional experience along the ‘Silen-tium’ path. PERFORMANCE: Silvia Dezulian (Trento), dance course at the Civica Paolo Grassi in Milan and in set design at the Brera Academy, set and costume designer and founder of AZIONIfuori-POSTO PERFORMANCE: Filippo Porro (Trento), dance course at the Civica Paolo Grassi in Milan and at the Proxima Res school directed by Carmelo Rifici, author and choreographer and performer of AZIONIfuoriPOSTO SOUND SCULPTURES: Martina Dal Brollo TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Gabriel Garcia ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Performance ‘Oltrepassare’: winner Pergine Arte Giovane, P.A.G. 2019 winner Danza Urbana XL 2020 winner Intersezioni FVG 2021 Project selected in the sphere of Dancescapes/international mobility, an action to support circulation and training abroad, promoted by the Associazione Culturale Danza Urbana, with the contribution of the MIC - Ministry of Culture and the Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna, in the sphere of the Dancescapes project, with the collaboration of Cultural Association Las Voces Humanas, H(abita)t - Network of spaces for dance IMPORTANT: In case of bad weather, the event will be postponed BRING WITH YOU: comfortable shoes REGISTRATION: Schnalstal Valley Tourism Association

on the 2nd floor in the Lengmoos Commandery. Opening hours: Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 4-6 p.m., Free admission. Vernissage: Sunday, 29/6 - 5 p.m. This series of images emerged from the current concern for the state of our planet. The way we burden our Earth, exploit and exhaust it, penetrates deeply into our consciousness. A dizzying web of life is interconnected within the biosphere. Bacteria, microorganisms, plant, fungus, and animal species coexist with humans in a delicate layer of soil, water, and air. We are connected through food streams. Sustained only by the energy of the sun, the Earth system behaves like a single organism, striving to regenerate and sustain itself and life (Gaia Theory, James Lovelock/Lynn Margulis). Awareness of the delicate and fragile fabric of life leads to the astonishing realization that the Earth as a whole — the ecosystem itself, with its physical, chemical, and biological components — is resilient and enduring through change, decay, and emergence. It continually regulates itself anew. Life goes on and ultimately survives us humans. Our human struggle lies in attempting to shape everything according to our own ideas through intervention. Yet our existence is actually owed to the Earth's biological diversity. If we wish to preserve the web of life to which we belong, we must restrain ourselves and observe the dynamic structure in its ability to self-heal, better understand it, and support it. In its fragile delicacy, the fabric of life is filled with beauty. Hanna Battisti is an artist and lecturer in art didactics at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. In her art, she primarily uses photography, a medium she learned from Rupert Larl at the Fotoforum West in Innsbruck in the 1990s. Since her time abroad in Nepal, Tibet, and China, she has practiced the art of Far Eastern ink painting. She has been exhibiting her works continuously at home and abroad since 1997, most recently FUTURO FRAGILE, 2024 in Innsbruck. She has published several books, most recently NATURA VIVA, ArcaEdizioni 2020. Since 2008, she has been a member of the South Tyrolean Artists' Association.

The Association of Artists of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano presents a new project to explore the local artistic reality. The exhibition project aims to investigate the subtle boundary between dream and reality, a fascinating and thought-provoking theme. Through a selection of works by contemporary artists, the exhibition seeks to examine how the dream world influences the perception of reality and vice versa, thus creating a dialogue between the imaginary and the concrete.

July, 5 to August, 18 Tuesday - Saturday: 10.30 am. - 12.30 pm. and 3.00 pm. - 6.00 pm. Sunday: 10:30 am. - 12:30 pm. (except Cafè Atelier Pinta Pichl)

The exhibition brings together works by 38 artists active in the provincial area, who submitted their projects in response to the open call for artistic production support, promoted by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio and now in its fifth edition. An artistic committee will select between 10 and 15 works from the exhibition to be acquired by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio and later displayed at the Bolzano Hospital. A collaboration between Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, Südtiroler Künstlerbund, and Cooperativa 19.

Discover the Infopoint Steger Sawmill! Visitors can explore a Venetian frame saw from the 16.th century as well as the former sawmaster's house. In addition to these witnesses of Alpine craftsmanship anc cultural heritage, the infopoint also features various exhibition elements. These include a sound station for bird calls, a film booth, a visitor information system about the fauna, flora and geology of the Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Park. Free guided tours every Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in German & at 11:00 a.m. in Italian.

The exhibition ‘Mercanti si diventa’ was created with the intention of investigating the figure of the merchant, the protagonist and soul of the city of Bozen from the earliest times, and his evolution from a ‘simple’ shopkeeper to a full-fledged fair merchant. On a local level, this qualitative leap took place between the 17th and 18th centuries, thanks to the spread of innovative trade manuals, the growing importance of Bolzano's fairs, and the role of the Mercantile Magistrate. The exhibition, which was realised thanks to loans from institutions, public archives and private collectors, aims to revive the intense commercial activity that characterised Bolzano's fairs in their heyday. The exhibition includes a reconstruction of the studio of an enterprising merchant. The maps, paintings and guild insignia on display emphasise how important transport activities were for international trade. On display are some valuable manuscripts from the Menz Archive, which give an insight into the complex structure that underpinned the organisation of a market, and some rare printed books, veritable encyclopaedias ‘of trade’. The exhibition ends with an inlaid panel by Alois Delug, an unfinished work from the early 20th century and exhibited for the first time at the Mercantile Museum. It ideally sums up those atmospheres, giving us a snapshot of the past of Bolzano, a city of fairs and markets. Exhibition in Italian and German