MAXXI. Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (Via Guido Reni 4a, Rome, in the Flaminio quarter, accessible by tram 2 from Piazza del Popolo or by bus 53 from Piazza del Risorgimento): the national museum of 21st-century arts designed by the Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid (1950-2016, the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture (2004), the architect whose specific formal vocabulary (the flowing concrete curves, the diagonal intersections, the "deconstructivist" spatial sequence that rejects the right angle as the organizing principle of architectural space) is most completely realized in the MAXXI building among all her completed works) and opened in May 2010 after a construction period of 9 years (the original competition was won in 1998. Construction began in 2003 after the complex bureaucratic and funding process that major Italian public building projects require).
The MAXXI Turner Prize: the Pritzker Prize (the architecture equivalent of the Nobel) went to Zaha Hadid in 2004 partly on the basis of the (then unbuilt) MAXXI design. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize (the UK equivalent of the Turner Prize for architecture) was awarded to the MAXXI building specifically in 2010, the year of its opening, the specific recognition that the completed building received from the international architectural community validates the design beyond the theoretical promise of the competition drawings.
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MAXXI: Architecture, Collection, and Exhibitions
The Architecture Experience
MAXXI building experience (the specific architectural experience of the Hadid design, the approach from Via Guido Reni (the first view of the building's concrete curves and the specific diagonal relationship of the building volumes to the street grid), the lobby (the double-height entrance hall with the staircase that rises diagonally through the space, the specific Hadid staircase that the architectural photography has made the canonical MAXXI image), and the gallery sequence (the flowing gallery spaces connected by bridges and ramps rather than by corridors, the specific MAXXI circulation experience where the visitor moves through the building on a continuous curved path rather than through the room-to-room sequence of the conventional museum plan)): allow 30 minutes to experience the building architecture before engaging with the exhibitions.
Maxxi Roma Zaha Hadid: skip-the-line tickets & guided tours
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See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Permanent Collection and 2026 Exhibitions
MAXXI permanent collection (the Italian and international contemporary art and architecture collection, the MAXXI's specific dual mandate covering both visual arts and architecture, the only Italian national museum with a permanent architecture collection): the architecture collection (the models, drawings, and digital documentation of major Italian and international architectural projects from the 1960s to the present) and the visual arts collection (the Italian and international contemporary art from the 1960s to the present, the specific Italian art history chapter (Arte Povera, Transavanguardia) alongside the international acquisitions). The 2026 temporary exhibitions (check maxxi.art for the current program, the MAXXI programs 5-6 major temporary exhibitions per year in the gallery spaces alongside the permanent collection): open Tuesday-Friday 11:00-19:00, Saturday-Sunday 11:00-22:00. Admission approximately €12 for the standard program.
Q&A: MAXXI Roma
Is the MAXXI building worth seeing even if you don't like contemporary art?
Yes, the MAXXI is the most architecturally significant museum building in Rome and one of the most significant contemporary buildings in Italy, regardless of the art content. Zaha Hadid's specific architectural contribution (the demonstration that the right-angle grid isn't the only organizing principle for museum circulation and that the flowing curve can accommodate both the visitor experience requirements and the artwork display requirements of a major museum) is embodied in the MAXXI more completely than in any other Hadid building. The building itself is the primary reason to visit. The art content extends the visit for the contemporary art interested visitor. The specific MAXXI architecture visit (the lobby, the staircase, the bridge sequence, and the gallery flow) requires approximately 30-45 minutes and is included in the standard museum admission.
