After deciding to try and get breakfast at a restaurant that won’t let you book online and won’t pick up its phone, we took a taxi one clear morning. We were promptly told no way could we dine there any time that morning as they were fully booked. Not a good start to our day.

So we started walking around looking for a decent place for breakfast. Nothing was appealing. Then we looked down a street and recognized a church… and remembered that next to that church are Bramante’s Cloisters (Chiostro del Bramante). The Cloisters were supposed to have a nice little cafe bar, and the current art exhibit featured street artist Banksy. So we quickly decided to have breakfast with Banksy.

Some logistics

To just go to the cafe no admission ticket is needed, and you do not need to show your proof of vaccination since the dining area is in the open-air section of the cloisters. The cafe has respectable baked goods (we had chocolate chip muffins), coffee, and other light fare. There are teeny, tiny seats using the architecture of the arches (the seats are so small, you actually end up sitting at an angle), as well as a few “normal” tables and chairs.

At one end of the cloisters is a really cool lounge area, which is inside and has an opening overlooking the interior of the adjoining church, where you can see Raphael’s Sybils. To sit in this lounge, you need to show your Green Pass or vaccination card with passport (both of us were checked).

To enter the Banksy exhibit, an admission ticket is required (which was 18 euros on a weekend but should be cheaper on a weekday) and you will need to show your proof of vaccination. The exhibit is on through January 9, 2022.

 

 

The experience

The Banksy exhibit is large, taking up multiple floors of the exhibition space.  It is simply jam packed with his work, which comes with informative descriptions in both Italian and English.  Some of Banksy’s work we were familiar with (such as “The Flower Thrower,” at the top of this post), but several pieces we had never seen before.

There is a lot to this exhibit, with something like 250 works of art. Here are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may remember that one of Banksy’s works, “Girl with Balloon,” started to shred itself literally while it was being auctioned.  

Banksy definitely is not a fan of art auctions.

One of Banksy’s works that we were familiar with was the short film, Exit Through the Gift Shop.  At the end of the exhibit was this, which… led to the gift shop.

There are many reasons for liking Banksy’s art, and each piece can be thought provoking to its own degree and in its own way.  But whatever it is that draws you to this art, take advantage of this opportunity if you can.  Whether it was the pandemic or the time of day, the gallery was not too crowded.  It was definitely a nice way to end our breakfast with Banksy.  (Banksy, if you ever read this, you are always welcome to stay at our place!)