RO.ME - Museum Exhibition, an international fair on museums, cultural sites, and destinations, is underway.

From 12 to 14 November 2025, the eighth edition of RO.ME - Museum Exhibition , an international fair on museums, places and cultural destinations, will begin in the Corsie Sistine of the Santo Spirito in Sassia Monumental Complex.

RO.ME - Museum Exhibition

RO.ME - Museum Exhibition , conceived and produced by Fiera Roma and ISI.Urb , is a unique event in Italy. It is a platform for professional development and networking, an international marketplace for institutions, companies, and professionals working in museums, cultural venues, and destinations. As always, the event offers a packed schedule of meetings and discussions with distinguished guests and leading national and international cultural institutions.

" RO.ME - Museum Exhibition confirms Rome's role as the world capital of museum culture and innovation. We are proud that Fiera Roma is helping to promote a sector in which our region embodies excellence and international vision, strengthening the dialogue between institutions, businesses, and the community."

- Fabio Casasoli, Sole Director of Fiera Roma

The 2025 edition is dedicated to the theme "Better Together"

The 2025 edition is dedicated to the theme "Better Together," in a context where museums and cultural destinations are facing profound changes, new audience demands, inclusion, sustainability, and increasingly limited economic resources.

It will be an opportunity for dialogue between professionals, focusing on public-private partnerships, digital transformation, and citizen participation, to strengthen organizational resilience, cultural offerings, and visitor experiences. "Better Together" emphasizes the value of working together to address change with vision and creativity, envisioning the future of cultural venues through open and multidisciplinary discussion.

The program

The event will be held in person, with a packed program of meetings, workshops, and specialized insights. Over 35 meetings will address the industry's most innovative topics, including special events, presentations, and panels featuring over 80 national and international speakers over the three days.

The event renews its collaboration with the Rome School of Fundraising, Patrimonio Cultura, and Fundraising Lab, which will promote the 2025 edition of Più Fundraising Più Cultura during the event, a program dedicated to cultural fundraising of the future, starting from the experiences of cultural institutions and organizations, companies, foundations, and public administrations.

Around 80 national and international companies will be present at the fair with booths and displays showcasing innovative products and solutions: from museum merchandise and crafts to exhibitions and lighting, from immersive projects using mixed reality to visitor apps.

The RO.ME Museum Store will be open to visitors, a real boutique where fashion accessories, fabrics, jewelry, paper goods, ceramics and leather goods will be exhibited by companies that will promote their products to buyers from national and international museums in an original setting.

Sector companies from Rome and Lazio will be present thanks to the support of the Lazio Region , Lazio Innova , and the Rome Chamber of Commerce (through its Special Agency, Sviluppo e Territorio ). Over 600 B2B meetings are scheduled with 30 buyers selected in collaboration with ICE - the Italian Trade Agency.

Two special events

The event kicks off with two special events. The first is the inaugural conference, organized in collaboration with the Department for the Promotion of Cultural Heritage and the Directorate General for Museums of the Ministry of Culture . In line with Minister Alessandro Giuli's Policy Statement for 2025-2027, the conference will seek to develop and share reflections on one of the most interesting topics among the objectives identified by the Minister: the Olivetti Plan for Culture.

The speakers, coming from diverse backgrounds but united by an experimental approach to heritage valorization, will aim to highlight practices and governance models capable of connecting local communities, landscape, and cultural identity. The conference focuses on the theme " The museum as a tool for the cultural regeneration of territories . " The inaugural conference will feature: Marianna Bressan , Historical Museum and Park of Miramare Castle - Regional Directorate of Museums Friuli-Venezia Giulia; Giorgio De Finis , MAAM - Museum of the Other and Elsewhere of Metropoliz; Federica Rinaldi , National Roman Museum; Daniela Tisi , Alte Marche Creative "Welcoming Heart of the Apennines."

The second special event is the international conference "Deep Surfaces. Architecture to Enhance the Visitor Experience of UNESCO Sites," promoted by UNESCO and the Royal Commission for AlUla in collaboration with the Santagata Foundation for the Economics of Culture. Concluding the exhibition organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe at Palazzo Zorzi in Venice, as part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the conference will bring together cultural institutions and representatives of the museum community, as well as visitor center managers from Germany, Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, and China , to share perspectives and identify new opportunities for collaboration in visitor management and heritage interpretation. The institutional session will feature contributions from Magdalena Landry , UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, and Silvia Barbone , Royal Commission for AlUla.

Keynote speeches

The 2025 edition of RO.ME - Museum Exhibition includes two keynote addresses. The first will be delivered by Georgia Haseldine , senior curator at the V&A East Storehouse, on the topic of "Museum storage as a new frontier for visitor experiences." The project experiments with an innovative model of behind-the-scenes access to museum storage, enhancing heritage, professions, and material culture through curatorial journeys, co-design with communities, and dynamic collection consultation experiences.

The second keynote will be delivered by James Dwyer , CEO and Creative Director of Lumsden Design, on the topic of "Designing Retail Spaces and Visitor Attractions within Museums." The talk will explore the strategic role of retail, hospitality, and visitor services in the visitor experience, highlighting how design, storytelling, and creative collaborations can generate new opportunities for economic sustainability. International case studies will showcase practices and models adopted by leading museums. This will be followed by a conversation between James Dwyer and Renata Cristina Mazzantini , director of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome.

Institutional appointments

Two institutional events are planned as part of the event. The first offers a conversation with Massimiliano Smeriglio , Councillor for Culture of Rome Capital, to explore the strategies, projects and visions related to the valorization of the Museum System of Rome Capital.

The second proposes a conversation with Federico Mollicone , President of the Culture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, on the bill " Amendments to the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, and other provisions concerning the subsidiary valorization of cultural heritage and the establishment of the "Italy on Stage" circuit," currently under discussion in Parliament. The bill has a twofold objective: to ensure more effective, efficient, and sustainable management of institutions, cultural sites, and publicly owned cultural heritage; and to promote the participation of private entities, whether individuals or groups, in the valorization of cultural heritage according to the principle of subsidiarity, to "revive" situations of insufficient use or valorization of small villages, inland areas, mountain municipalities, and inadequately managed cultural heritage.

Thematic insights

Furthermore, the event offers seven thematic insights:

• Ecclesiastical museums and digital innovation. The initiative, promoted by Confesercenti Roma and the Rome Chamber of Commerce and implemented in collaboration with AMEI - Association of Italian Ecclesiastical Museums, consists of a conference exploring the role of digital innovation as a lever for enhancing and making ecclesiastical heritage accessible and as a strategic resource for regional development.
• Designing Museum and Exhibition Spaces. The aim is to reflect on what it means to design a museum or exhibition space today, at a time of evolving relationships between institutions, the public, and the local community. The program addresses these issues through two initiatives. The first analyzes the case study "Inhabiting Memory. A Sustainable Home Traveling Around Europe" (Remembr-House/Case di memoria), a traveling exhibition made of honeycomb cardboard as part of the European CERV program. The project, developed by the 1563 Foundation in collaboration with the MEIS, engages students in the study of archives and documents on confiscations of Jewish communities, transforming memories of dispossession into paths of civic awareness. The second initiative involves the presentation of two museum and exhibition design projects selected through the RO.ME - Museum Exhibition Call for Proposals, which will be presented during the event.
• "Heritage creates value": exploring the impact of CCIs on the supply chain of museums and cultural sites. The workshop, held in collaboration with Fondazione CRT , Fondazione Cariplo , Cariplo Factory , and the Lombardy Region , aims to build connections between stakeholders, tools, and supply chains, integrating skills, technologies, and relationships so that cultural heritage becomes a concrete lever for innovation, employment, and inclusive growth for local communities. The event will consist of an introductory session focusing on the visions and policies of foundations and public institutions, with the participation of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia , and a session dedicated to the presentation of projects implemented by businesses and other entities.
• The impact of visitor experiences in museums through digital technologies. The meeting will highlight how creative solutions can amplify the educational and cultural impact of museums, strengthening their identity and capacity to inspire. The panel, coordinated by Antonio Scuderi , Capitale Cultura, will feature, among others: Michela Cascasi , Directorate General of Museums - MiC; Francesco Muscolino , Regional Directorate of National Museums of Sardinia; and Sara Oliviero , Directorate General of Museums - MiC.
• AI and museums. The topic will be divided into two panels: the first, held in collaboration with Cultur-e , will focus on how generative artificial intelligence is changing the landscape, requiring new promotion strategies in the cultural heritage sector, starting with proprietary AI for data management. Pietro Lanza , General Manager and CEO of SB Italia, will speak on the panel. The second will address the effects of the AI ​​revolution on multilingual museum visits, exploring its potential to make cultural sites increasingly accessible and inclusive, overcoming the language barriers that still limit the full enjoyment of heritage by an international audience. Speakers at the meeting will include: amuseapp , CoopCulture - Società Cooperativa Culture ; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche ; and Giuliano Romanelli , Director of the Central Institute for the Digitization of Cultural Heritage - Digital Library.
• The role of museums in youth education and active participation. Through the presentation of projects and practices implemented in the local area, the panel will explore innovative models of dialogue between museums, schools, and communities. Barbara Rossi, Director of the Educational Service of the Special Superintendency of Rome , will present the experience of the Drugstore Museum of the Special Superintendency of Rome, with a project dedicated to civic education on heritage, developed to introduce students to the social and cultural value of common goods. Axel Hémery , Director of the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, will illustrate the Body Speaking and Be Different workshops, which combine dance, creative movement, visual education, and cognitive reprocessing to promote personal expression, awareness, and dialogue.
• Cultural organizations and decarbonization. The meeting will highlight the findings of the 4C Observatory - DeCarbonization in the Cultural and Creative Field, promoted by the Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture. Between 2024 and 2025, the Observatory involved approximately one thousand Italian cultural organizations, providing a comprehensive picture of emissions reduction practices in the cultural sector and highlighting growing awareness, but also the need for concrete tools to accelerate the transition.

The RO.ME Award - Museum Exhibition 'Italian Museum Library 2025'

Furthermore, the RO.ME - Museum Exhibition 'Italian Museum Bookshop 2025' award will be presented, an annual recognition given to permanent museum bookshops in Italy based on the quality of their book offerings, merchandising, and product selection, the attention paid in particular to younger museum visitors, the functionality, innovation, and aesthetic beauty of the layout of each point of sale, and not least the attention paid to visitors and the preparation and professionalism of the bookshop staff.

No-shows at cultural venues

Finally, the first in-depth monographic study produced by the research observatory "Big Data and Cultural Places" of Mida Ticket Srl , with the support of analyses by Formules Srl, on the no-show phenomenon in cultural venues will be presented. Speakers on the panel will include Maria Alessandra Masucci, Director of the Museo Cappella Sansevero, Roberto Ferrari , Executive Director of the Museo Galilei, and Simone Quilici , Director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park.

Useful information

The event will take place from November 12 to 14, 2025, at the Corsie Sistine of the Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia, Borgo Santo Spirito 2, Rome. Admission is free upon registration at www.romemuseumexhibition.com .

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