From September 27, 2026
ARTé
Immersive, multisensory installation in the museum's Project Space by Namkhai Yeshi, with photographs by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu: sound, screen visualisations and an instrument based on magnetic fields that can be played.
MACO – Museo di Arte e Cultura Orientale
Museum in the Castello Aldobrandesco in Arcidosso with the Namkhai collection: more than 5,000 art objects and ethnographic finds from the East.
Have only individual sections read aloud
Opening hoursAdmission €9
Current exhibitions
About the museum
The MACO is housed in the former Palazzo della Cancelleria, within the complex of the Castello Aldobrandesco in Arcidosso, on Monte Amiata. It arose from a collaboration of several decades between the Comune di Arcidosso and the Merigar Dzogchen Community, founded by Professor Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, who taught Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at the Università Orientale in Naples.
The museum was created to house the Namkhai collection, assembled by the scholar and made up of more than 5,000 objects of Eastern art and ethnographic finds. The museological and architectural project revolves around the mandala, adopted as the unifying theme, and conceives the museum as a “museo vivente” (living museum), with panels, multimedia installations, soundscapes and videos.
At the centre of the route is an immersive virtual theatre with three screens, showing images filmed in eastern Tibet in 2016. On the first floor, the Spazio Progetti has housed two rooms for temporary exhibitions of different art forms since 2017. The museum also offers educational routes for schools, including experiences in virtual reality.
Highlights
- Namkhai collection with more than 5,000 objects of Eastern art and ethnographic finds
- Immersive virtual theatre with three screens devoted to Tibet
- Route inspired by the mandala
- Housed in the former Palazzo della Cancelleria of the Castello Aldobrandesco
- Educational routes with virtual reality for schools
Permanent exhibition
- Collezione Namkhai – More than 5,000 objects of Eastern art and ethnographic finds, presented with multimedia installations and a virtual theatre.
- Founded
- 2016
- Operated by
- Comune di Arcidosso e Comunità Dzogchen di Merigar
- Visitors per year
- approx. 3,095
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €9 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €6 |
The ticket office is inside the Castello Aldobrandesco.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
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
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The museum offers educational routes for schools of all levels, with guided explorations, art workshops and virtual reality routes. |
