As W.W. II drew to a close, Italy saw a flood of tourists and artists, many of them from North America. They were drawn by the historical monuments, the sprawling piazzas, and a quality of life quite different from the one they knew in America. By the late 50s, the Arte Povera movement was in full swing and the country had become the capital of the avant-garde. This exhibition—which includes work by the visiting or émigré artists Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Richard Serra—examines the cultural interchange and cross-pollination that occurred in Italy at this time. —E.C.