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Originally
built as a military barracks, this eighteenth century building
has since 1883 been the seat of Modena's most important historical
and artistic institutions; the Galleria Estense, the Biblioteca
Estense, the Museo Lapidario Estense, the Archivio Storico Comunale,
the Museo Civico del Risorgimento and the Museo Civico.
The first museum, on the ground floor, is the Museo Civico del
Risorgimento, founded in 1893  to
house a collection of items (documents, placards , military uniforms,
weapons, etc.) which illustrate the historical process of liberation
and unification of the Italian state.
In the open gallery that surrounds the building's courtyard and
in the two side wings is the Museo Lapidario Estense.
This wide and varied collection includes the remains of monuments,
statues, sarcophagi, stelae and headstones from Roman, mediaeval
and modern times.
Still on the ground floor is the Biblioteca Civica di Storia dell'Arte
"Luigi Poletti", named after the founder and architect,
whose manuscripts and original plans it conserves. The library
boasts a collection of more than 4,000 volumes on the history
of art along with various collections of prints, photographs and
drawings.
At the top of the first flight of stairs is to be found the Archivio
Storico Comunale, where all the documents, codices and statutes
of the city from the 14th century onwards are kept, together with
invaluable manuscripts including the correspondence of famous
personages such as Borso d'Este, Francesco Guicciardini, Alessandro
Tassoni and the duchess Lucrezia Borgia.
On the second floor is the Biblioteca Estense, which boasts one
of Italy’s finest collections of volumes, manuscripts, pamphlets
and incunabula. Its original nucleus originated in the first half
of the 15th century in Ferrara, but in 1598 the collection was
transferred to Modena where it grew following new acquisitions
and was curated by scholars of the calibre of Ludovico Antonio
Muratori. The jewel of the collection is the famous Bible of Borso,
a precious illuminated tome in two volumes commissioned in 1455
by Borso d'Este from Taddeo Crivelli and other distinguished artists.
On the third floor of the building is the Museo Civico, divided
into the Museo Archeologico-Etnologico and the Museo d'Arte Medievale
e Moderna.
The Museo Archeologico-Etnologico cherishes a vast and eclectic
collection of exhibits. The archaeological section houses items
from Modenese territory dating from the period running from Paleolithic
to Roman times, including a cast (the original is in Rome) of
the statue known as Venus of Savignano, which portrays a pregnant
woman and dates from about 20,000 years ago. The ethnological
section displays exhibits from all over the world, including some
fascinating relics from the pre-Columbian culture of Central America.
The Museo d'Arte Medievale e Moderna offers a fine collection
of paintings, sculptures and religious artistic objects, all having
in common their origin in Modenese territory. In addition to High
School paintings there are musical instruments, scientific instruments,
weapons and ceramic and glass objects of immense value.
On the top floor of the building is the Galleria Estense, which
holds a vast and extremely valuable collection of paintings, sculptures
and objects put together by the Este family and originally housed
in the Palazzo Ducale. The paintings include works by Primitives
from Emilia, Tuscany and Veneto and by fifteenth century painters
from the Po Valley , including the splendid work of Cosmè
Tura. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are splendidly represented
by the paintings of artists such as Veronese, Tintoretto, Palma
il Giovane and, among those from Emilia, the Carracci family,
Guercino
and Guido Reni. Of note from the seventeenth century is the work
of Francesco Guardi, a landscape painter from the Veneto region.
In the section dedicated to the plastic arts, mention must be
made of the works in terracotta by the Modenese sculptors Antonio
Begarelli and Guido Mazzoni and the famous bust of Francesco I
sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Much importance is given to contemporary art. The city has a large
number of galleries and societies which since the fifties have
been working to promote the latest trends in Italian and international
art.Of particular importance is the prestigious and dynamic Galleria
Civica which, in addition to housing an important permanent collection,
also offers a wide all-year-round programme of exhibitions and
conferences which are carefully planned so as to break new ground
in the field of contemporary art. conserves. The library boasts
a collection of more than 4,000 volumes on the history of art
along with various collections of prints, photographs and drawings.
At the top of the first flight of stairs is to be found the Archivio
Storico Comunale, where all the documents, codices and statutes
of the city from the 14th century onwards are kept, together with
invaluable manuscripts including the correspondence of famous
personages such as Borso d'Este, Francesco Guicciardini, Alessandro
Tassoni and the duchess Lucrezia Borgia.
On the second floor is the Biblioteca Estense, which boasts one
of Italy's finest collections of volumes, manuscripts, pamphlets
and incunabula. Its original nucleus originated in the first half
of the 15th century in Ferrara, but in 1598 the collection was
transferred to Modena where it grew following new acquisitions
and was curated by scholars of the calibre of Ludovico Antonio
Muratori. The jewel of the collection is the famous Bible of Borso,
a precious illuminated tome in two volumes commissioned in 1455
by Borso d'Este from Taddeo Crivelli and other distinguished artists.
On the third floor of the building is the Museo Civico, divided
into the Museo Archeologico-Etnologico and the Museo d'Arte Medievale
e Moderna.
The Museo Archeologico-Etnologico cherishes a vast and eclectic
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