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Abstract: The idea of a National Gallery of Modern Art was first conceived as a symbolic instrument by the newborn nation that, with a targeted policy of commissions and acquisitions, might remedy the stalemate, both internal and external, of the contemporary artistic production. The approach to the matter is strictly dependant on the context of the national exhibitions in which it was born. In this way its peculiar aspects as well as its limits may be understood. Both strong ties to the mutual model and a difficult dialogue between the old artistic centers and the new, symbolic capital can be seen as opposite extremes enclosing all of the projects conceived during the first two Italian exhibitions: the one in Parma in 1870 and the other in Milan in 1872. The result of this has been twofold: on one hand, the issue has been reduced to a political argument and on the other, extraordinary but peripheral examples, such as the documented one of the Turin museum, have not been taken into proper consideration.