Museo Borgogna
House museum and picture gallery in Vercelli with around 800 works from the 15th to the 21st century, from the Piedmontese Renaissance to Flemish paintings and the 19th century.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum grew out of the house museum of the Vercelli collector Antonio Borgogna. In 1907 the institution received royal recognition, and in October 1908 the ground floor was opened to the public under the name of the museum “Geometra Francesco Borgogna”. Between 1912 and 1915 the building was extended with a large skylit hall, in line with the new museum criteria, and a second extension followed in 1932, when the direction passed to the archaeologist and museographer Vittorio Viale.
In the 1930s the museum was designated the city picture gallery and received paintings and frescoes on deposit from churches and from the Istituto di Belle Arti. It was dismantled during the war and after the war became the venue of important exhibitions. At the beginning of the 1960s it was reorganised, and the first floor was devoted to Flemish and Dutch painting and to the 19th century; in 1985 the second floor was reopened with the furnishings and decorative arts of the house museum. After restorations begun in 2000 for the centenary, part of the original house museum and the whole route were re-displayed, and in 2011 the museum obtained regional recognition.
The collections include paintings, sculptures, prints, decorative arts, photographic plates and a library. The around 800 works displayed across three floors cover a span from the 15th to the 21st century: altarpieces and polyptychs of the Piedmontese Renaissance (Giovenone, Lanino, Defendente Ferrari, Gaudenzio Ferrari), 17th- and 18th-century painting, 53 Flemish and Dutch paintings including the branch paintings by Bosschaert and De Heem, and 19th-century Italian and European painting. The Sala Araba, re-displayed, can be visited along the route.
Highlights
- Piedmontese Renaissance: Gaudenzio Ferrari, Lanino, Defendente Ferrari, Giovenone
- 53 Flemish and Dutch paintings, including the branch paintings by Bosschaert and De Heem
- 19th-century Italian and European painting, with Morbelli and Favretto
- Sala Araba and rooms of Antonio Borgogna’s house museum
- Sculptures by Bistolfi, Eberlein and Porzio
- Around 800 works displayed across three floors
Permanent exhibition
- Collezioni permanenti del Museo Borgogna – Route across three floors with paintings, sculptures and decorative arts from the 15th to the 21st century, from the Piedmontese Renaissance to Flemish painting and the 19th century.
- Founded
- 1908
- Operated by
- Fondazione Museo Francesco Borgogna
- Visitors per year
- approx. 7,098
Admission & discounts
Since December 2025, by presenting a full-price ticket bought at one of the museums of the MUVV network (Museo Borgogna, Museo Leone, Museo del Tesoro del Duomo, MAC Museo archeologico di Vercelli, Palazzo dei Musei di Varallo), you get the reduced rate at the others. The museum takes part in the Abbonamento Musei.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- 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 fully accessible, with a lift to the first and second floors; on the ground floor wheelchair access is provided by an external side passage along the route of the first rooms.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
The museum offers activities for children and educational programmes for schools (education section: +39 0161 252 764).
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
- Museum shop
- Coat check
- Lockers
Bookshop in the museum. At the ticket office bags, backpacks and bulky items must be left in free lockers that lock with a key; food and drink are not allowed.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (IT) |
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Works may be photographed with a mobile phone for non-commercial use, except where prohibited; ceilings and rooms may not be photographed. Professional cameras and tripods are not allowed. |
| Good to know | Along the route visitors are accompanied by interns and volunteers from cultural associations, who offer orientation but do not lead guided tours. A guided tour with the museum’s guides is an additional service to be requested at the ticket office. Small dogs, muzzled and on a lead or carried, may be admitted at the discretion of the security officer. The downloadable audio guide “La Vercelli di Antonio Borgogna” is available. |
