Broken at Palazzo Strozzi: Tickets and Visitor Guide 2026–2027

Florence is not a city you finish in one trip. Even if you have already stood beneath Brunelleschi’s dome, seen Michelangelo’s David, and walked through the Uffizi, there is always a reason to return. From September 25, 2026, through January 24, 2027, that reason is Broken: The Power of the Fragment at Palazzo Strozzi.

This major sculpture exhibition brings together more than 80 works and archaeological objects, spanning ancient Egypt, the classical world, the Renaissance, and contemporary art. Michelangelo, Giovanni Pisano, and Auguste Rodin share the exhibition with Louise Bourgeois, Huma Bhabha, Robert Gober, Francesco Vezzoli, Danh Vo, and other modern and contemporary artists.

The result is not a conventional timeline of art history. Instead, Broken asks visitors to reconsider what happens when a sculpture loses part of its original form—and why a fragment can sometimes become more powerful, mysterious, or politically charged after it has been separated from the whole.

Tickets for Broken at Palazzo Strozzi: Prices and Where to Buy

Palazzo Strozzi offers two main full-price ticket options. Choosing the right one depends on how firmly your Florence itinerary is scheduled.

Ticket	How It Works	Price	Buy Online from the Official Reseller
Fixed date	Choose your visit date and entry time when booking.	€15	Buy a fixed-date ticket
Open date	Enter once on the date and at the time you prefer, without stopping at the ticket office.	€20	Buy an open-date ticket

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For most travelers, the fixed-date ticket is the better value. It saves €5 and works well if you already know when you will be in the historic center. The open-date ticket is useful if your plans depend on the weather, a train trip, or other reservations and you would rather keep your schedule flexible.

You can also buy tickets for Broken through GetYourGuide. See the options here.

Advance booking is not mandatory for individual visitors, but Palazzo Strozzi strongly recommends buying online to secure direct access and minimize waiting time. Same-day tickets may also be available at the courtyard ticket office. Advance tickets are generally nonrefundable when the reason for not using them is unrelated to the organizer.

Discounted and Free Tickets

• Reduced admission, €12: visitors under 30 and members of participating organizations, with valid documentation.
• Youth admission, €5: ages 6–18. On Thursdays after 6:00 p.m., this price also applies to visitors under 30, students in Tuscany, and Carta Giò holders.
• Family ticket, €25: one or two adults plus at least one visitor ages 6–18, for a maximum of six people.
• Free admission: children under 6, visitors with disabilities and their companions, Palazzo Strozzi members, Firenzecard holders, and other eligible categories.

Discounts and free admission may require proof of eligibility. Check the complete rules on the official Palazzo Strozzi ticket page and bring the relevant ID or card.

Why This Exhibition Is Worth Seeing

We often encounter ancient sculpture in pieces: a head without a body, a hand detached from a monument, or a figure whose face has been damaged beyond recognition. Museums can make these objects feel timeless, but every break has a history. A fragment may have survived a war, a political revolution, religious iconoclasm, vandalism, an earthquake, a flood, or simply centuries of exposure.

Broken treats those marks as evidence rather than flaws. The fragment is presented as a work in its own right—an object capable of holding memory, loss, resistance, and transformation. Some of the sculptures were broken by historical events. Others were deliberately created to look incomplete, allowing artists to use absence as part of the work.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, which organized the exhibition with the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, describes it as the first exhibition to examine the fragment as a concept across both geography and time. For visitors, that means moving among cultures that are rarely placed in the same conversation.

What You Will See Inside Broken

The exhibition travels from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Etruria, Greece, and Rome to premodern cultures in regions now known as Mexico, Mali, Peru, and Cambodia. Rather than arranging everything around a single European narrative, it looks at the different ways objects have been damaged, preserved, displaced, reinterpreted, or intentionally fragmented.

Historic works by Giovanni Pisano, Michelangelo, and Auguste Rodin appear alongside sculptures by Louise Bourgeois, Huma Bhabha, Robert Gober, Francesco Vezzoli, and Danh Vo. The pairing helps reveal that the fascination with fragments is not limited to archaeology. For contemporary artists, an incomplete body or broken surface can become a language for identity, trauma, memory, and change.

More than 80 works and artifacts have been loaned by major collections around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. Bringing objects from so many institutions into one exhibition is part of what makes this a rare opportunity, even for travelers who regularly visit art museums.

A New Installation by Mark Manders

The experience begins before the main galleries. Dutch-Belgian artist Mark Manders has created a new installation specifically for Palazzo Strozzi’s Renaissance courtyard. The setting matters: a contemporary work concerned with form and fragmentation enters into direct conversation with the carefully balanced architecture of a 15th-century Florentine palace.

The Florence Flood of 1966 and the Meaning of Damage

Seeing Broken in Florence adds another layer to the exhibition. Its themes include the damage caused by the catastrophic flood of November 4, 1966, when the Arno River overflowed into churches, museums, libraries, archives, and homes throughout the city.

The flood transformed Florence into an international center for conservation and restoration. Volunteers known as the “Mud Angels” arrived from around the world to help rescue books, paintings, sculptures, and other pieces of the city’s cultural memory. Here, damage is not an abstract curatorial idea. It is part of Florence’s recent history and of the continuing effort to decide what can be repaired, what must remain visibly altered, and how loss should be remembered.

If that story interests you, consider pairing the exhibition with the Museo del Novecento. Its collection offers another perspective on modern art in Florence, including works connected to the city’s cultural life before and after the flood.

Best Time to Visit

The galleries are open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with last admission at 7:00 p.m. On Thursdays, Palazzo Strozzi stays open until 11:00 p.m., and the final entry is at 10:00 p.m. The late opening is particularly convenient if you want to visit another museum during the day or enjoy the exhibition after dinner.

Plan on spending about 90 minutes inside. This is an estimate rather than an official visit length. Travelers using the one-hour audio guide or reading all the gallery texts may want to allow two hours.

Because the exhibition runs through the Christmas and New Year period, check for holiday updates before visiting. Palazzo Strozzi states that the exhibition is open daily, but special schedules can occasionally apply.

How to Get to Palazzo Strozzi

Palazzo Strozzi stands in the heart of Florence, between Piazza della Repubblica, Via de’ Tornabuoni, and Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Its central location makes the exhibition easy to add to either a first visit or a return trip.

• From Firenze Santa Maria Novella station: Palazzo Strozzi is approximately a six-minute walk away.
• From Florence Airport: take the T2 tram toward the Santa Maria Novella area, then continue on foot.
• By car: the palace is inside Florence’s restricted traffic zone, or ZTL. Do not drive into the historic center unless your license plate has been properly authorized by a hotel or garage.

What to Pair with Broken in Florence

You do not need to build your day around Florence’s most famous sights. Returning visitors can use Broken as the centerpiece of a more focused art itinerary:

• For sculpture: continue to the Bargello Museum, home to one of Italy’s most important collections of Renaissance sculpture.
• For art in an unusual historic setting: visit the Orsanmichele Museum, a former grain market and church with monumental sculptures tied to Florence’s medieval guilds.
• For a conversation between old and new: pair Palazzo Strozzi with the Museo del Novecento near Santa Maria Novella.
• For a classic Florence art day: combine the exhibition with the Uffizi Gallery or cross the Arno for Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.

Palazzo Strozzi is also open on Mondays, when the Uffizi, Accademia, and Palazzo Pitti are normally closed. Our guide to things to do in Florence on Mondays can help you plan the rest of the day.

Where to Stay Near Palazzo Strozzi

For easy access on foot, look for accommodations near Piazza della Repubblica, Via de’ Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, or Ponte Vecchio. All four areas place you close to Palazzo Strozzi as well as restaurants, shopping, and major museums.

Staying in the historic center usually costs more than sleeping outside it, but the location can save time on a short trip and makes a Thursday evening visit especially simple. Compare neighborhoods and accommodations in our guide to the best places to stay in Florence. For more itinerary ideas, seasonal guides, and transportation advice, visit our complete Florence travel guide.

Accessibility and Visitor Rules

Palazzo Strozzi’s exhibition rooms are free of architectural barriers. The accessible entrance with a ramp is on Via Strozzi, and an elevator in the courtyard reaches the exhibition floor. Accessible restrooms are available, and visitors may request a wheelchair at the ticket office.

• Bags and backpacks larger than 35 × 30 × 10 centimeters must be left in the free lockers.
• Nonprofessional photography without flash is allowed.
• Tripods and selfie sticks are not permitted.
• Only service animals may enter the exhibition spaces.

Broken at Palazzo Strozzi: Essential Information

Exhibition	Broken: The Power of the Fragment (Broken. Il potere del frammento)
Dates	September 25, 2026–January 24, 2027
Venue	Palazzo Strozzi, Renaissance courtyard and main floor
Address	Piazza Strozzi, 50123 Florence, Italy
Hours	Daily, 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.; Thursdays until 11:00 p.m.
Last admission	One hour before closing
Full-price ticket	€15 for a fixed date or €20 for an open date
Audio guide	€4; approximately one hour; available in English and Italian
Accessibility	Step-free exhibition spaces, accessible entrance, and elevator

Broken Sculptures That Reshape Destinies

Yes—especially for travelers interested in sculpture, archaeology, conservation, cultural heritage, or contemporary art. You do not need an academic background to appreciate the central question. Everyone understands that a break changes an object, but Broken reveals how that change can create new meaning rather than simply erase what came before.

For first-time visitors, the exhibition offers a different perspective on a city usually introduced through complete Renaissance masterpieces. For returning travelers, it is a strong reason to see Florence again: a temporary international exhibition that cannot be reduced to the works normally found in the city’s permanent collections.