Photo: sailko · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Casa museo Rodolfo Siviero

Neo-Renaissance villa on the Lungarno that houses the home and collections of Rodolfo Siviero, the “007 dell'arte” (“007 of art”); closed for restoration until 2027.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed (expected until 2027). The house museum has been closed to the public since December 2023 for restoration, consolidation, accessibility upgrades and reorganisation of the collections.

About the museum

The neo-Renaissance villa on the Lungarno Serristori was built in the 1870s. From 1919 the Castelfranco-Forti family turned it into a cultural salon frequented by writers and artists, among them Giorgio de Chirico and Alberto Savinio. During the German occupation, in 1943–44, the house served as a base for a partisan group led by Rodolfo Siviero.

Siviero bought the first floor in 1944 and the rest of the building in 1963. From the 1950s he headed the Delegation for Restitutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and devoted himself to recovering works of art taken from Italy during the war. At his death, in 1983, he left the house, the collections and the library to the Regione Toscana, which set up the museum there.

The collection includes 20th-century works by artists who were friends of the collector, such as de Chirico, Soffici, Manzù and Annigoni, medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculptures, Etruscan and Roman finds, as well as furniture, ceramics and domestic and ecclesiastical furnishings from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century. The mezzanine rooms were arranged by the restorer Alfio Del Serra according to Siviero's own wishes. On the first floor is the apartment with family photographs and memorabilia.

Since December 2023 the house museum has been closed to the public for restoration, consolidation, accessibility upgrades and reorganisation of the collections; the Region expects to reopen in the second half of 2027.