Museo Civico «Ala Ponzone»

About the museum

The museum grew out of the collections of Marquis Giuseppe Sigismondo Ala Ponzone, a wide-ranging collecting of paintings, prints, drawings, enamels, ivories, sculptures, coins, books and natural history material. In spirit it was close to the Wunderkammer, but it was also guided by a historiographical plan. The marquis decreed that half of the income from his estate should maintain the “Scuola di Scultura Ala Ponzone”, giving the institution a strong educational purpose as a place for training artists.

The Museo Civico Ala Ponzone opened to the public in 1888 in Palazzo Ala Ponzone. Only in 1928 was it moved to its present seat, Palazzo Affaitati, in via Ugolani Dati.

The route opens with the Middle Ages and the fifteenth century, with sculptures, frescoes detached from their walls and works linked to the Bembo family. It continues with sixteenth-century painting from Cremona, from Camillo Boccaccino to the Campi, and on to Caravaggio with the “San Francesco in meditazione”. There follow the Sala di San Domenico, with works by Cerano, Nuvolone and Procaccini, Cremonese still life, the portraits of the Ponzone family, and painting of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, from Genovesino to the Neoclassicism of Diotti and the Romanticism of Piccio. The last rooms present applied arts, the iconography of Cremona, and Lombard and Cremonese painting of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The print and drawing section can be consulted by appointment only.

Highlights

• “San Francesco in meditazione” by Caravaggio
• “L'Ortolano” by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
• Sixteenth-century painting from Cremona, with the Campi and Camillo Boccaccino
• Cremonese still life and portraits of the Ponzone family
• Applied arts: Oriental porcelain, majolica, ivories and enamels
• Print and drawing section available by appointment

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente di pittura e arti applicate – Route from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, with Cremonese painting, Caravaggio, still life, portraits of the Ponzone family, applied arts and the iconography of Cremona.

Operated by

Comune di Cremona

Visitors per year

approx. 23,217

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of every month.

With suitable documentation, admission is also free for holders of the Abbonamento Musei (Lombardy, Milan and the integrated Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont pass), teachers of history, art history and the natural sciences, interpreters, journalists, members of ICOM and of national museum associations, donors and lenders with one companion, officials of the Ministry of Culture, and members of the Associazione Amici del Museo “Ala Ponzone”.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• 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 route runs over several levels connected by a lift; on arrival, ask at the front desk or the bar to use it. The whole route can be visited independently by people with disabilities. The museum has a wheelchair, which can be requested from the staff. The toilets are accessible and fitted out, but have no automatic door. People with disabilities may park in the museum courtyard by displaying their permit. Routes are also provided for people with intellectual disabilities and for blind and partially sighted visitors.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café

The museum has a bar.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit