Museo archeologico Villa Pisani Dossi

About the museum

The villa at Corbetta was built around the mid-15th century as a country residence by Count Ambrogio Varese da Rosate, chief physician to Ludovico il Moro. In 1811 it passed to the commendatore Francesco Mussi and, by inheritance, to his niece Carlotta Borsani, who in 1892 married the diplomat and writer Carlo Alberto Pisani Dossi, a figure of the Scapigliatura movement.

In 1898, during consolidation work, Dossi discovered beneath the plaster the remains of the 15th-century house and directed its restoration, reopening the pointed-arch windows, rebuilding the portal and the fireplace, and decorating the façade with sgraffito motifs. In the same period he devoted himself to archaeological excavations in Corbetta and the neighbouring villages, and set up in the house a museum according to modern teaching criteria, which the family still runs today.

On the ground floor the finds from the excavations are displayed, arranged by place of discovery and by tomb, with some burials reconstructed with their grave goods, mostly from the 1st century BC; the upper floor houses a collection of materials from Rome, Greece and Colombia. The museum is preserved as Dossi wished it, without electric lighting. The villa also houses the family library, with thousands of volumes from the 17th and 18th centuries, a rare copy of the Flos Duellatorum by Fiore dei Liberi, the archive of the Varese da Rosate and Mussi families and some prints by Albrecht Dürer.

Highlights

• Museum kept as Carlo Dossi wished it, without electric light
• Finds from the excavations at Corbetta, Albairate, Riazzolo and Santo Stefano Ticino, with reconstructed tombs
• Scamozzina necropolis with a well-preserved Neolithic axe
• Historic library with a rare copy of the Flos Duellatorum and prints by Dürer
• 15th-century villa with frescoed rooms and garden

Permanent exhibition

• Museo archeologico e biblioteca di Carlo Dossi – Finds from the Celtic, Roman and Lombard periods discovered by Dossi around Corbetta, material from the Scamozzina necropolis and the villa's historic library.

Operated by

Famiglia Pisani Dossi

Admission & discounts

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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

No information is available on accessibility; please contact the venue.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The villa is in the centre of Corbetta, at Via Francesco Mussi 38.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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