Milan’s art market is gaining momentum as tax policy, collector wealth, and gallery expansion converge
Milan is drawing a sharper international art-world focus, and the reasons are as practical as they are strategic. Italy’s reduced 5% VAT on the sale and import of art, now the lowest in the European Union, has made the country more attractive to dealers and collectors alike. At the same time, the abolition of the UK’s non-dom status has pushed some wealthy residents to reconsider London, while Italy’s own tax regime has helped position Milan as a destination for high earners from abroad.
The shift is already visible on the ground. Paris Internationale is among the names adding to the city’s growing profile, while Ben Brown is rumored to be opening in Milan. Herald St opened in Bologna at the beginning of the year, and Hauser & Wirth has taken a different route, acquiring Palazzo Forcella De Seta in Palermo, Sicily, for a renovation project. Other dealers have been moving into Italy for several years: David Kordansky opened in Venice in 2022, Victoria Miro launched there in 2017, and Thomas Dane established a presence in Naples in 2018.
The appeal is not only fiscal. Italy, especially the north, has long had a collector base capable of sustaining a domestic market, even if that market remains relatively small. The country accounts for about 1% of global art trade, compared with 8% for France and 18% for the UK. Yet Milan has a deeper institutional and private network than its size might suggest. Miuccia Prada, Luigi Rovati, and Marco Tronchetti Provera are among the well-known figures who have opened museums in the city, while an estimated 20 foundations operate in Milan and Turin alone, many tied to fashion and related industries.
That combination of capital, infrastructure, and discretion helps explain why Milan Art Week continues to matter. As Ciaccia noted, it brings together “an exceptional mix of local and international collectors,” creating access to collections and professional networks in an environment that supports experimentation and sustained engagement. For galleries weighing where to place their next bet, Milan now looks less like a peripheral stop and more like a serious node in Europe’s art market map.
