Museo Casa del Podestà

About the museum

The Casa del Podestà was built around the middle of the 15th century as the residence of the Venetian representative responsible for supervising the territory: Lonato remained under the Serenissima from 1441 for over three centuries, with the only interruption of the brief rule of Marquis Francesco Gonzaga (1509–1516). After Venice ceded the territory to Austria, the building passed to the Austrian state property office, which turned it into a barracks, and then to the Comune di Lonato, which neglected it.

In 1906 the house was bought at auction by the lawyer and Liberal deputy Ugo Da Como, who had it restored by the Brescian architect Antonio Tagliaferri and furnished as a house museum to be lived in, in line with the fashion of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Da Como lived there until his death in 1941, together with his wife Maria Glisenti, who died in 1944.

The character of a bourgeois residence has been preserved to this day. The rooms house furnishings, paintings and art objects, including the Galleria, the Studio di Ugo Da Como, the Sala Rossa, the Salottino Glisenti, the Sala dei Peltri, the kitchens and the bedrooms. The house is also a “casa biblioteca” (house library) holding about 50,000 volumes, one of the most important private collections in northern Italy. The museum is part of the monumental complex of the Fondazione Ugo Da Como, dominated by the Visconti-Venetian Rocca.

Highlights

• House museum with the original furnishings of senator Ugo Da Como
• Library of about 50,000 volumes, with incunabula and manuscript codices
• Historic rooms: Galleria, Da Como's study, Sala Rossa, Sala dei Peltri
• 15th-century building formerly the seat of the Venetian podestà
• Combined ticket with the Rocca di Lonato

Permanent exhibition

• Museo Casa del Podestà – Ugo Da Como's residence with its furnished rooms, study, kitchens and library of about 50,000 volumes.

Operated by

Fondazione Ugo Da Como

Visitors per year

approx. 42,045

Admission & discounts

Free admission for group leaders, teachers visiting with a school class, ICOM card holders, holders of the Abbonamento Musei, and people with a disability of more than 70%. Promotional rates for holders of partner cards (such as FAI and Touring Club Italiano) and for adult groups with children up to 14 or people over 65. Tickets can also be bought online.

Accessibility

• Partially 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 museum is only partly accessible to people with mobility difficulties, because of the stairs to the first floor of the house and to the library. Dogs are admitted to the museum only if carried in a carrier, a bag or in arms.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

The foundation offers schools of all levels educational routes with booklets, hands-on workshops and costumed animations (from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes); the website has pages and drawings to colour for children.

Getting there & parking

Motorhome area “La Spiaggia” in Desenzano del Garda (Via Vo' 19); motorhomes can also park at the Corlo car park, without waste-disposal services.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit