Museo Giovanni Battista Filippa
Anthropological museum in Rimella, founded on the 1836 donation of Giovanni Battista Filippa, with his “cabinet of curiosities and rare things”.
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About the museum
The Museo Giovanni Battista Filippa is located in Rimella, in the hamlet of Chiesa, in two rooms of a house dating from 1415 near the church of San Michele Arcangelo. It is considered the first museum of civic ownership established in Piedmont.
The museum arose from the donation that Giovanni Battista Filippa (1778–1838) made to the community in 1836, a few years before his death. Filippa left Rimella at the age of ten for the Novara area, served in the Napoleonic army from 1807, including in the Spanish campaign, and returned to the village in 1812 after a serious illness. He wanted the collection to give the people of Rimella an idea of the complexity and variety of the world. After 1838 the collections were increased thanks to the interest of the painter Maurizio Antonini and the parish priest Gaudenzio Cusa.
The “cabinet of curiosities and rare things”, as Filippa himself called it, includes books, coins, stuffed animals and minerals collected during his travels, as well as inn bills from French, English and German establishments, pamphlets, stagecoach tickets, diplomas, books and printed sheets in various languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, and a French parchment relating to the founding of a Masonic lodge in Turin at the beginning of the 19th century.
Highlights
- First museum of civic ownership in Piedmont
- Cabinet of curiosities and rare things of Giovanni Battista Filippa
- Books and printed sheets in various languages, including Arabic and Hebrew
- Coins, minerals and stuffed animals
- House of 1415 next to the church of San Michele Arcangelo
Permanent exhibition
- Collezione Filippa – Books, coins, minerals, stuffed animals and objects of various origins collected by Giovanni Battista Filippa on his travels.
- Founded
- 1836
- Operated by
- Comune di Rimella
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | A visit requires advance booking; the municipality's website gives no prices. |
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