Museo Gazzola
Museum in the Piacenza palazzo of the Istituto Gazzola, with paintings, sculptures, drawings, plaster casts and African art; visits by appointment.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museo Gazzola is part of the Fondazione Istituto Gazzola, established according to the wishes of Count Felice Gazzola (1698–1780), a general in the service of Charles III of Bourbon and a collector, and is housed in the palazzo that his father Gian Angelo Gazzola bought in 1699. After Felice's death the building was entrusted to a congregation of Piacenza aristocrats charged with managing the property and supporting poor young women and talented young people.
In 1838 the Institute acquired, through the bequest of Dr Cesare Martelli, forty-two paintings, including works by Antonio Campi, Giovanni Andrea De Ferrari, Mattia Preti and Giuseppe Maria Crespi; other bequests enriched the collection. In 1903 the piano nobile (main floor) housed the first Museo Civico of Piacenza; in 1975 the municipal collections and the Gazzola arms were moved to Palazzo Farnese, and the rooms that were freed up became classrooms, storerooms and the present museum.
The collections include paintings by Piacenza artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, about forty sculptures, two thousand drawings and prints, around a hundred plaster casts, most of them brought from Rome in 1830, and, since 2017, more than two hundred pieces of African art donated from the Besner Decca collection.
Highlights
- Paintings from the Martelli bequest, including works by Campi, Preti and Crespi
- About two thousand drawings and prints
- Plaster casts of statues and reliefs
- More than two hundred pieces of African art (Besner Decca collection)
- Palazzo with a courtyard arcaded on three sides and a grand staircase
Permanent exhibition
- Collezioni del Museo Gazzola – Paintings, sculptures, drawings, plaster casts and African art arranged in the rooms of the palazzo.
- Founded
- 1838
- Operated by
- Fondazione Istituto Gazzola
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
The palazzo is in the centre of Piacenza; the main entrance is in Via San Tommaso.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | Visits by appointment only, by writing to info@istitutogazzola.it. The main entrance is in Via San Tommaso, through a barrel-vaulted passage that leads to the courtyard with arcades on three sides; the upper loggia is reached by the grand staircase. A virtual tour is also available on the website. |
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