Fattoria di Celle – Collezione Gori

About the museum

The Celle estate, at Santomato near Pistoia, is a country residence that has changed owners several times over the centuries: from the 15th to the 18th century it belonged to the Fabroni family, to whom the enlargement of the villa, the Italian-style gardens and the chapel are due. In the 19th century Count Damiano Caselli created a romantic park of about twenty hectares, with a lake, waterfalls, an ice house and a tea house. In 1929 it passed to the bibliophile Tammaro De Marinis, who made it a cultural centre frequented, among others, by Luigi Einaudi, Bernard Berenson and Benedetto Croce.

From 1970 the history of Celle has been linked to Giuliano Gori and his family, who moved there and launched an ambitious programme of environmental art, a kind of art in which the space is not a container but an integral part of the work. The project drew inspiration from a trip in 1961 to the museum of Catalan art in Barcelona, where the works were presented in their original architectural setting.

On 12 June 1982 the first sixteen works were inaugurated, including pieces by Alice Aycock, Dani Karavan, Fausto Melotti, Robert Morris, Richard Serra and Mauro Staccioli in the park, and by Nicola De Maria, Luciano Fabro, Mimmo Paladino, Giuseppe Penone and Michelangelo Pistoletto in the historic buildings; the collection was then opened to the public. Today it comprises over eighty works, both outdoors and indoors, and also hosts dance, theatre, music and poetry events.

Highlights

• Over 80 works of environmental art in the park and estate buildings
• Works by Dani Karavan, Fausto Melotti, Robert Morris, Richard Serra and Mauro Staccioli
• Installations in the historic spaces by Pistoletto, Penone, Paladino and others
• Nineteenth-century romantic park of about 20 hectares with lake and waterfalls
• Italian-style gardens restored with PNRR funds
• Park visit through poetry

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione di arte ambientale – More than eighty works by Italian and international artists, conceived for the park and the historic buildings of the estate.

Founded

1982

Operated by

Fondazione Gori-Celle (Collezione Gori)

Admission & discounts

Visit prices are not published on the collection's website: tickets are bought online via the calendar on Ticketmaster.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The visit to the collection involves a demanding walk of about 3 hours in the park; the visit through poetry lasts about 2 hours and is less demanding. For special needs you can write to visite@goricoll.it.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

For over twenty years the collection has offered primary and lower secondary schools a walk in the park designed as a workshop, with guide-actors.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The estate has a bookshop; the tasting visit allows you to sample organic oil and wine from the farm.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit