Contemporary art and Morandi in a former industrial bakery
Photo: Giorgio Bianchi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Comune di Bologna · source
Why go
MAMbo covers 9,500 square metres and presents itself, on Italy's national tourism portal, as a centre for visual culture, experimentation and critical work on contemporary culture. Its permanent collection traces Italian art from the years after the Second World War to today, drawing on the former Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, and since 2012 it has been arranged in nine thematic sections.
It is also the place to see Giorgio Morandi's paintings: since November 2012 MAMbo has temporarily housed the collections of the Museo Morandi. Large monographic exhibitions complete the programme, with past shows devoted to Giuseppe Penone, Marcel Broodthaers and Gilberto Zorio, and in autumn 2026 the Comune lists Cuoghi Corsello's 'Tra le nuvole' and Dafne Boggeri's 'Fuori registro'.
Gallery
Photo: Giorgio Bianchi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Comune di Bologna · source
Photo: Matteo Monti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Comune di Bologna · source
Photo: Roberto Serra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Comune di Bologna · source
Highlights
Since November 2012 MAMbo has temporarily housed the collections of the Museo Morandi, devoted to the Bolognese painter Giorgio Morandi. If you plan to see Casa Morandi on Via Fondazza, where he lived and worked, come here too: there you find the bottles and vases he painted, here the paintings themselves.
The permanent collection traces Italian art from the post-war years to the present and comes from the former Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna. Since 2012 it has been laid out in nine thematic sections, which makes it easy to follow even if contemporary art is not your usual territory.
MAMbo's halls host changing exhibitions of contemporary art. In autumn 2026 the Comune di Bologna lists Cuoghi Corsello's 'Tra le nuvole' and Dafne Boggeri's 'Fuori registro', part of the 'Autunno nei Musei' programme of more than 50 events across the civic museums. Check the current programme on the museum's website before you go, as shows change.
The museum occupies the ex Forno del Pane, a former bread bakery, and covers 9,500 square metres of exhibition and work space. MAMbo is also one of the twelve components of the UNESCO-listed Porticoes of Bologna, so take a look at the building and the street outside as well as the art.
Practical information
From the official website:
As listed on Italia.it: Monday closed; Tuesday and Wednesday 14:00–19:00; Thursday 14:00–20:00; Friday to Sunday 10:00–19:00. The museum's own site (museibologna.it) could not be read to confirm current times or holiday changes.
Check current ticket prices on the official website before you go.
Checked on the official sources in November 2026. Hours can change on holidays: check the official website before you go.
Getting there
TPER city buses serve the edge of the historic centre. Plan your route with TPER's journey planner and buy tickets in TPER's official ROGER app.
The historic centre is a camera-controlled limited-traffic zone (ZTL). Leave the car in a car park outside the centre and walk in, or ask your hotel how access works.
Insider tips
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays MAMbo opens only from 14:00 to 19:00, and it is closed on Mondays. Spend those mornings in the historic centre and come here after lunch, or choose Friday to Sunday, when the doors open at 10:00.
On Thursdays the museum stays open until 20:00, according to Italia.it. It is the best evening to combine the exhibitions with an aperitivo afterwards, without rushing through the Museo Morandi rooms.
See the paintings in the Museo Morandi here, then the objects he painted in his studio at Casa Morandi, Via Fondazza 36. Check that the house is open first: its hours could not be confirmed on an official page.
In the centre
Historic-centre restaurants and hotels from the Bologna City Guide, each with its own Holiplanet page.
Historic restaurant
Tortellini in brodo and lasagne verdi since 1909
Discover more →Traditional restaurant
Handmade tortellini and tagliatelle in Bologna since 1948
Discover more →Chef's restaurant
Mario Ferrara's Lucanian-rooted cooking in a 1600s convent
Discover more →Wine bar / osteria
Wine osteria since 1465: bring your own food
Discover more →Hotel
Romantic 3-star hotel in the ancient Quadrilatero
View hotel →Boutique hotel
12th-century building facing San Petronio's Gothic windows
View hotel →Unique stay
Sleep inside a 12th-century tower, sixty metres above Bologna
View hotel →All restaurants on the Bologna map → All hotels on the Bologna map →
Questions
MAMbo is at Via Don Giovanni Minzoni 14, 40121 Bologna, in the former bread bakery known as the ex Forno del Pane. The museum covers 9,500 square metres and, since November 2012, has also temporarily housed the collections of the Museo Morandi; its phone number is +39 051 6496611.
Italia.it lists MAMbo as closed on Mondays, open Tuesday and Wednesday 14:00–19:00, Thursday 14:00–20:00 and Friday to Sunday 10:00–19:00. Thursday is the only late opening. Times can change for exhibitions and holidays, so check the museum's own website before you go.
At MAMbo, which has temporarily housed the collections of the Museo Morandi since November 2012. The painter's house and studio, Casa Morandi, is at Via Fondazza 36, where the vases, bottles and shells he painted are kept as he left them.
Italian art from the period after the Second World War to the present, coming from the former Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna. Since 2012 it has been arranged in nine thematic sections, alongside large monographic exhibitions; past shows have featured Giuseppe Penone, Marcel Broodthaers and Gilberto Zorio.
