Premium Featured Accommodation

Civic Museum in Reggio Emilia

The building stands in the area where there was once the imperial palace, granted for use to the Bishop of Reggio (1255) who in turn granted the building to the S. Francesco Minor Conventual Friars. Enlarged in 1270, it was later restored. The design for a more radical restructuring was drawn up by architect Giovanni Maria Ferraroni (1755). In 1799, with the death of Lazzaro Spallanzani, the great scientist from Scandiano ( in the province of Reggio Emilia ) the city acquired the naturalist collection which the scientist had assembled and which constitutes the oldest group of collections in the museum. At the entrance of the museum, important fragments of mosaic flooring originating from various churches in Reggio are mounted on the walls, along with other mosaics from the Roman era discovered during excavations carried out at the beginning of this century.

In the palaeontology section, there is the original collection created by Don Gaetano Chierici dedicated to our territory and which is arranged chronologically from the Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages. Other important collections include: zoology, anatomy, numismatics, sculptured marbles and stones. On the upper floor there is the "Fontanesi" gallery exhibiting paintings, ceramics, silverware, fabrics and weapons. In Mazzacurati Museum there are paintings, scultures, drawings.

Inside the Museum, next to the entrance, there is an area dedicated to the sale of the Civic Museums' publications. The catalogue of publications is available free of charge, containing more than 200 titles. Within the Museums, there is a library (specialized in archaeology and history of art) and a newspaper library containing Italian and European magazines (access is also permitted to scholars, university students and researchers).
The Museums organize educational initiatives for all types of schools, linked to the subjects covered in the different museum sections; conference cycles and guided tours are organized periodically on Sundays.

Articles