MAGI '900 – Museo delle eccellenze artistiche e storiche

About the museum

MAGI ’900 is a private museum created at the end of the 1990s by the industrialist Giulio Bargellini, founder of the company OVA, which specialises in emergency lighting. Bargellini wanted to display his own collection of paintings and sculptures and to make the museum a centre for documentation, study and promotion of 20th-century Italian art.

The venue is a former grain silo built in 1933 in Pieve di Cento, near Bologna. The restoration project by the architect Giuseppe Davanzo kept much of the original volumes and added a new block with a glass tower; the exterior is painted in predominantly blue tones. The first section opened in 2000, a second extension followed in 2005–2006, and a third, with a three-storey building and a panoramic terrace, in 2015. Outside there is a sculpture garden and a ceramic mosaic by Marco Pellizzola, “Costellazioni dell’arte”, which runs along the perimeter of the building.

The collection is the product of more than forty years of purchases and of works on deposit from artists, institutions and collectors. It comprises thousands of pieces and is eclectic and not uniform, which is precisely why it is representative of the contemporary spirit. With the 2015 extension, the permanent display shows almost the whole collection, arranged in several sections, including sculpture, the Italo-African collection from Malindi and the Collezione Minima of Cesare Zavattini.

Highlights

• Collection of 20th-century sculpture
• Italo-African collection from Malindi
• Cesare Zavattini and the Collezione Minima 8×10
• Sculpture garden
• 1933 silo converted by Giuseppe Davanzo
• Free narrative trail on your smartphone, with hidden stories for children

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente – Permanent display of paintings and sculptures of 20th-century Italian art and contemporary art, with the Italo-African collection from Malindi and Zavattini’s Collezione Minima.

Founded

2000

Operated by

Fondazione Giulio Bargellini (MAGI '900)

Admission & discounts

The €15 ticket (reduced €10) covers the permanent collection and the Belle Époque exhibition. Free admission for holders of Open Box, residents of Pieve di Cento (permanent collection only), journalists, tourist guides, accompanying persons of organised groups and teachers of school groups.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• 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 building is fully accessible to people with disabilities. Animals are not allowed in the rooms.

Kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

The narrative trail on smartphones includes stories for children hidden in the works.

Getting there & parking

From Bologna: A13, exit Arcoveggio towards Padova, exit Bologna Interporto, then SP4 as far as Pieve di Cento. From Modena: SS12 towards Ferrara, exit 6, then SP255 and SP66. From Ferrara: A13 towards Bologna, exit Altedo, then SP20 through San Pietro in Casale.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop and bookshop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit