Pinacoteca comunale "S. Lega"

About the museum

The Modigliana civic picture gallery was founded in 1959, when the journalist and writer Michele Campana, born in the town in 1885, donated a first group of paintings to the municipality with the intention of creating a gallery named after the Macchiaioli painter Silvestro Lega, born in Modigliana in 1826. In the following years the collection grew thanks to the Premio Lega, an award promoted by the municipal administration between 1959 and 1968 under mayor Gilberto Bernabei, which brought to the town works from the avant-garde movements of the 1950s and 1960s, from Op Art to abstraction and Abstract Expressionism.

The gallery has been open to the public since 1999 in the Palazzo Pretorio, a medieval building of the 14th century overlooking the square of the same name, in the oldest heart of the town. The palazzo was the residence of the Guidi counts and, from 1377, the seat of the podestà sent each year from Florence; coats of arms and inscriptions on the walls commemorate the magistrates who succeeded one another. After damage caused by an earthquake the central part was lowered, while in 1896 the two side wings were added.

The collection includes paintings by Lega, works by Italian painters between the 19th and 20th centuries such as Annibale Gatti, Guglielmo Micheli, Armando Spadini and Carlo Servolini, acquisitions from the Premio Lega and the most recent donations. In 2013 Vitiliano Liverani and Maddalena Zanetti donated works dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, including works by Emilio Vedova and Dino Buzzati.

Highlights

• Paintings by Silvestro Lega, including portraits of Garibaldi and Mazzini
• Works from the Premio Lega by Getulio Alviani, Concetto Pozzati and Plinio Mesciulam
• Michele Campana donation (1959) with works by Annibale Gatti, Armando Spadini and other painters
• 2013 donation with works by Emilio Vedova and Dino Buzzati
• 14th-century Palazzo Pretorio, former seat of the Florentine podestà

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione permanente – Paintings by Silvestro Lega, works by 19th- and 20th-century Italian painters, and pieces acquired through the Premio Lega and donations.

Founded

1959

Operated by

Comune di Modigliana

Admission & discounts

Prices in force during the bicentenary exhibition (12 September–13 December 2026), with online ticketing. Journalists with a press card and under-20s resident in Modigliana also enter free of charge. In the past the gallery was listed as free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• 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 Museionline portal lists the gallery as accessible to people with disabilities. A reserved parking space is available in Piazza Pretorio; access to the square is permitted only for residents, authorised persons and emergency vehicles.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

From the Faenza motorway exit it is about 35 minutes by car; in Modigliana follow the signs for the Pinacoteca comunale. Access to Piazza Pretorio is reserved for residents and authorised persons.

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