Museo Civico e Gipsoteca Leonardo Bistolfi

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1910, when the Comune di Casale Monferrato received the bequest of Countess Clara Leardi, who had already brought the first nucleus of works into the civic collections. The Gipsoteca dedicated to Leonardo Bistolfi, a sculptor from Casale of international renown, was established by a resolution of 1966 on the basis of donations from the banker Camillo Venesio.

Since 1979 the seat has been the former convent of Santa Croce, a complex founded in the 13th century by the Humiliati and later passed to the Augustinians, who enlarged it between the 14th and 15th centuries with the support of the marquises of Monferrato. In 1801, with the Napoleonic suppression, the convent became the town hall and the church was stripped of its furnishings; today the perimeter walls and the 18th-century façade remain. Under the name Museo Civico e Gipsoteca Bistolfi the museum was re-displayed and opened on a continuous basis in 1995.

The picture gallery occupies eighteen rooms on the first floor and holds paintings, ceramics, wooden and stone sculptures and other objects from the late 14th to the late 19th century. The plaster-cast gallery, on the ground floor, holds over one hundred and seventy sketches, plaster models, terracottas and drawings. Since 2021 the museum has also received as a gift the Bistolfi collection of the Martelli family, visitable as an open store.

Highlights

• Picture gallery of eighteen rooms with works from the 14th to the 19th century
• Self-portrait of Niccolò Musso, the museum's emblematic image
• Polyptych on a gold ground by an Aragonese master in the Sala Vitta
• Plaster-cast gallery with sketches and models by Leonardo Bistolfi, including those for the monuments to Carducci and Segantini
• Bistolfi collection, visitable as an open store
• Cloister and rooms of the former Augustinian convent of Santa Croce

Permanent exhibitions

• Pinacoteca – Eighteen rooms on the first floor with paintings, ceramics, sculptures and other works from the late 14th to the late 19th century, including the Self-Portrait of Niccolò Musso.
• Gipsoteca Leonardo Bistolfi – On the ground floor, over one hundred and seventy sketches, plaster models, terracottas and drawings documenting the path of the Symbolist sculptor.

Founded

1910

Operated by

Comune di Casale Monferrato

Visitors per year

approx. 7,260

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission every second weekend of the month on the occasion of Casale Città Aperta (in August on Sundays only), and during special initiatives and evening openings linked to town events.

Free admission also for tourist guides with a badge, registered journalists, holders of the Abbonamento Musei (the ticket office is a card point of sale) and children with the “passaporto culturale” (cultural passport) plus two companions. Reduced admission on the occasion of the Festa dei Musei (Museums Festival), the Giornate Europee del Patrimonio (European Heritage Days) and Famiglie al Museo.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

The museum offers educational routes and workshops for schools and initiatives for families. There is a “family friendly” room for new mothers to breastfeed and change babies.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop with Comune publications, postcards and educational material.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The exhibition rooms can be used for photo shoots, and the Salone Vitoli for cultural activities, at a daily rate and subject to approval by the municipal executive.

Plan your visit