Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio
Eighteenth-century house museum in Castiglione delle Stiviere with frescoed rooms, memorabilia of Henry Dunant and General Tellera; guided tours by appointment.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The palace, already recognisable on the plan of Castiglione delle Stiviere printed in 1704, stands beside the Collegiata (collegiate church) and was bought in the second half of the 15th century by Bartolomeo Pastorio, a patrician of Paduan origin. At the start of the 17th century Fausto and Prospero Pastorio enlarged it, creating among other things the great hall for theatre and dancing. Between 1760 and 1765 Giovan Giacomo Pastorio remodelled the left wing, the present Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio, giving it the three-level façade we see today.
The Sala dei Paesaggi on the ground floor preserves monochrome frescoes from the late 18th and early decades of the 19th century; in the entrance hall stands the statue of Prince Francesco Gonzaga in the guise of a Roman emperor, carved between 1610 and 1617 by Giovanni Antonio Carra. The piano nobile (main floor) has ceilings decorated with the coats of arms of related families.
The Fondazione Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio, established in 2008 at the wish of Maria Simonetta Bondoni Pastorio, the family’s last descendant, has managed the museum since 2009. It is essentially a house museum that tells the family’s story through furniture, objects, books, textiles and documents, with rooms dedicated to Henry Dunant, who was hosted by the Pastorio sisters after the battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, and to General Giuseppe Tellera, gold medal for military valour in the Second World War.
Highlights
- House museum of the Bondoni Pastorio family
- Sala dei Paesaggi with monochrome frescoes
- Sala Dunant linked to Henry Dunant’s stay after the battle of Solferino
- Room dedicated to General Giuseppe Tellera
- Statue of Prince Francesco Gonzaga in the entrance hall
- Library with a rare-book collection and important bequests from scholars
Permanent exhibition
- Museo di Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio – House museum across three floors, with furnishings, objects, books and documents of the family and rooms dedicated to Dunant and General Tellera.
- Founded
- 2009
- Operated by
- Fondazione Palazzo Bondoni Pastorio
- Director
- Silvana Greco
- Visitors per year
- approx. 700
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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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
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Guided tours by appointment. The route includes, on the ground floor, the Sala dei Paesaggi; on the piano nobile (main floor), the Pastorio, Dunant, Stemmi and Salone Aureo rooms; and on the second floor, the Tellera, Alcova and Biblioteca e Archivio rooms. |
