Museo Virtuale del Garofalo

About the museum

The museum stands at Garofolo, a hamlet of Canaro in the Polesine, in the house where the Renaissance painter from Ferrara Benvenuto Tisi, known as Garofalo, was born. The building is considered one of the oldest in the Canaro area, and the Tisi family lived there from the 14th century. It was restored in 1872, when a bronze bust of the painter was unveiled, and again in 1937 and 1954, after a serious flood of the Po.

Between 2008 and 2015 the municipality of Canaro promoted a major restoration, which recovered the rustic appearance of a rural Polesine house and added contemporary architectural elements. The outbuilding, previously used as a tool store and hayloft, houses the exhibition. The museum opened on 10 December 2016, is owned by the municipality and is run by the company Pop Out Cultura, Arte e Turismo.

Rather than a collection of originals, the museum is a virtual collection: reproductions of around five hundred panels by Garofalo held in more than forty museums in Italy and abroad, presented in a chronological route through the stages of his career. High-definition projections, virtual books, augmented reality, 3D reconstructions, tablets and interactive games allow his works to be compared with those of other 16th-century artists. The last room displays an original, the “Orazione nell’orto” (Agony in the Garden) of 1525, on permanent loan from a private collection.

Highlights

• Reproductions of around 500 works by Garofalo held in more than 40 museums
• Chronological multimedia route with projections, augmented reality and 3D reconstructions
• “Orazione nell’orto” of 1525, original on permanent loan
• Bronze bust of Garofalo by Gino Colognesi (1937)
• Restored birthplace of the painter

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso virtuale su Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo – Multimedia chronological route through several rooms, from the young Garofalo to his last years, with reproductions of about 500 panels and an original from 1525.

Founded

2016

Operated by

Comune di Canaro

Visitors per year

approx. 150 (2022)

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Interactive content and playful educational activities; routes for schools.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

A bookshop in the entrance hall.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The building also hosts temporary exhibitions, lectures and cultural events.

Plan your visit