The Museo Lombardi is a museum displaying an eclectic collection of 19th-century art and cultural works from

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. It is located in the

Palazzo di Riserva The Palazzo di Riserva, also known as the Palazzo delle Poste because for long it hosted the offices of the Postal Service, is a Neoclassical-style palace in central Parma, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. The large structure now hosts the Muse ...

on Strada Garibaldi #5 in central Parma,

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, Italy.

History

The museum was created by the efforts of Glauco Lombardi (1881–1971) to collect, study, and conserve the artistic and documentary heritage of 19th-century Parma under the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

(1748–1802, 1847–1859) and

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French a ...

(1816–1847). Many of these items were largely scattered during the period of

Italian Unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

in various residences of the

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

family. Lombardi often recovered the works from the antiquary market or in private collections. From 1915 to 1943, the original nucleus of the Museo Lombardi was housed in the ballroom and adjacent rooms of the

Ducal Palace of Colorno The Ducal Palace, also known as Reggia di Colorno, is an edifice in the territory of Colorno, Emilia Romagna, Italy. The palace we see today was refurbished by Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma in the early 18th century on the remains of a former ...

. In 1934, Lombardi was able to buy for the museum the precious objects that had belonged to Duchess Marie Louise, grandmother of the then owner, count Giovanni Sanvitale, The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and post-war years brought further difficulties, and not until 1961, was the ''Museo Glauco Lombardi'' able to reopen in new premises, within the ''

'' in the center of Parma. From 1997 to 1999, the museum underwent a major restoration, in order to account for the new museum premises and modern and effective systems of security and display. The collections include dresses, furniture, inkwells, engravings, jewelry, and porcelain. The museum displays a collection of 19th-century paintings from artists active or collected in Parma, including

Paolo Toschi Paolo Toschi (1788 – 30 July 1854) was an Italian draughtsman and engraver. He was born in Parma. Biography He trained in Paris under Charles Clément Bervic, and first made a reputation by a fine etching of ''Henry IV'', after Gérard. In 18 ...

(1788–1854),

Giuseppe Molteni Giuseppe Molteni (Affori, Milan, 1800 – Milan, 1867) was an Italian painter. Biography Forced to abandon his studies at the Brera Academy for financial reasons, Molteni took up the restoration of ancient paintings as a pupil of Giuseppe Guizza ...

(1800–1867),

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

(1770–1837) and Giuseppe Drugman (1810–1846).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Parma Art museums and galleries in Emilia-Romagna Napoleon museums