Museo del Bigorio

About the museum

The Capuchin monastery of Bigorio was founded in 1535 and was the first Capuchin monastery in Switzerland, only about a decade after the start of the Capuchin reform. In 1577 Charles Borromeo consecrated the new church. Unlike other Ticino monasteries, Bigorio escaped dissolution under the cantonal monastery law of 1845, although the number of brothers fell sharply. After restoration beginning in 1966, the house became a place of religious, spiritual and cultural education; the chapel goes back to a design by the young Mario Botta. A fire in the night of February 7, 1987 severely damaged the monastery; in October 1988 it resumed operation.

The architect Raffaele Cavadini set up the museum in 1994/95 in two rooms beside the choir. He designed them with simple means, in the tradition of the Venetian Carlo Scarpa. The collection aims to preserve what remains of Capuchin culture and shows paintings, wooden statues, crucifixes, liturgical textiles and implements, penitential tools, rosaries, reliquaries and devotional images, as well as objects from the daily life and crafts of the brothers.

After the closure of the Capuchin monastery in Lugano in 2014, further paintings and statues were added; Bigorio is today the only Capuchin monastery in the Sottoceneri. A visit also includes the monastery church with its altarpiece and the library.

Highlights

• First Capuchin monastery in Switzerland, founded in 1535
• Medieval crucifix and a rare movable Christ figure
• Liturgical textiles, reliquaries and devotional images
• Museum rooms by Raffaele Cavadini
• Chapel designed by Mario Botta

Permanent exhibition

• Sammlung des Klostermuseums – Paintings, wooden sculptures, liturgical implements and objects of monastery life in two rooms beside the choir of the monastery church.

Operated by

Convento Santa Maria dei Frati Cappuccini (Bigorio)

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

From Tesserete it takes about 6 minutes by car on a narrow mountain road, or about 30 minutes on foot along a steep forest path.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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