THE CIVIC MUSEUMS and modern art collections

Description

In Belluno [2] the Museo Civico (Civic Museum), created in 1872, is located inside the 17th century Palazzo dei Giuristi (Jurists’ Palace).

On the ground floor, the archaeology section includes material ranging from the Prehistoric period to the late Middle Ages. Among the exhibits is the burial tomb of a hunter from the Upper Palaeolithic period, with painted stones and burial objects. On the second and third floors is the art gallery, with paintings and sculptures mainly from artists from the Veneto from the 14th to the19th centuries (works by Andrea Brustolon, Cesare Vecellio, Palma il Giovane, Domenico Tintoretto, Sebastiano and Marco Ricci, Ippolito Caffi and Giovanni De Min). There is also a particularly interesting collection of porcelain objects, bronze plaques, votive offerings and jewellery from Belluno.

The Museo Civico in Feltre, [3] inaugurated in 1928, is located in Palazzo Villabruna (16th century). On the ground floor, in the archaeology section, you can see objects ranging from the Paleovenetian period to the Renaissance. On the upper floors, the collection of furniture recreates the appearance of a noble household. The art gallery includes works by artists from the Veneto from the 16th to 19th centuries, such as Lorenzo Luzzo, Pietro de Marascalchi, Gentile Bellini, Giambattista Cima da Conegliano, Palma il Giovane, Niccolò Renieri, Pietro Liberi and Francesco Maffei.

The Galleria d’Arte Moderna (Modern Art Gallery) in Feltre, inaugurated in 1938, bears the name of Carlo Rizzarda and contains some of his numerous wrought iron designs and works (balustrades, gates, gratings, lamps, decorative elements). The gallery is housed in Palazzo Bovio-Cumano, which was bequeathed to the Municipality of Feltre by Rizzarda himself (Feltre 1883-Milan 1931). The modern art collection also includes paintings, sculptures and ceramics by artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, among them Casorati, Schiele, Fattori, Signorini, Induno, Ciardi, Boudin, Carrà, Wildt, Messina, Andreotti, Mazzolani and Chini. You will find another modern art museum in Cortina d’Ampezzo [1], named after Mario Rimoldi. The gallery contains one of the largest private collections of Italian twentieth-century figurative art, with works by Carrà, Campigli, De Chirico, De Pisis, Sironi, Guttuso, Morandi, Music, Savinio and Tomea. The works are exhibited in turns and complemented with paintings from other museums and international art collections. [C.A.N.]

the itinerary

From Cortina d’Ampezzo, arrival in Feltre, stopping off in Belluno on the way.
Distance: approx. 100 km
Time: 2 hours 15 minutes, excluding stops

an alternative

In Belluno, you can also visit the cathedral, with paintings by Pietro Muttoni, Andrea Schiavone, Cesare Vecellio, Jacopo Bassano and Palma il Giovane. Particularly interesting is the 15th-century polyptych with tales from the life of San Martino. In the church of Santo Stefano you can admire the crucifix and the lamp-bearing angels by Andrea Brustolon and the Cesa chapel (15th century) with frescoes and a wooden altarpiece carved and painted by Matteo Cesa. On the walls are works by C.Vecellio, N.de Stefani, F.Frigimelica, A.Lazzarini and G.Diziani.

for the curious...

In Valdenogher, in the municipality of Tambre d’Alpago, you can visit the Museo della Casa dell’Alchimista (Alchemist’s House Museum), housed in a recently restored 16th century building. As well as being an example of an architectural style which is very different from the local historical building tradition, the Museum offers visitors an excellent, simple opportunity to discover an ancient practice, somewhere between philosophy and science, which disappeared after the 18th century with the advent of chemistry.