Description
The Museo Revoltella is Trieste's gallery of modern art, on Piazza Venezia: the palazzo of a 19th-century baron with its furnishings intact, plus two buildings next door full of Italian painting and sculpture from the 19th century to the later 20th century.
It was the home of Baron Pasquale Revoltella, who on his death in 1869 left it to the city with its artworks, furniture and books. In 1872 the city turned it into a museum: the oldest gallery in Italy devoted specifically to modern art.
The Renaissance-style palazzo was built in 1858 to a design by the Berlin architect Friedrich Hitzig, a pupil of Schinkel. Inside you can visit the baron's apartment, with inlaid floors, painted ceilings and original stuccowork, linked by a theatrical spiral staircase.
The rooms hold the works Revoltella collected: marble groups by Pietro Magni, historical scenes, landscapes and portraits from the first half of the 19th century.
To expand the collection, in 1907 the city bought the neighbouring Palazzo Brunner, fully opened only in 1963 after its renovation by Carlo Scarpa; Palazzo Basevi was added later. Today the three buildings offer about 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.
The route climbs floor by floor through time: Italian artists of the second half of the 19th century, the early decades of the 20th century, the artists of Friuli Venezia Giulia and finally the later 20th century. In all there are about 350 paintings and sculptures.
The names are many and important: Canova, Hayez, Fattori, De Nittis, Medardo Rosso, de Chirico, Casorati, Morandi, Fontana, Burri. A whole section is devoted to the Trieste sculptor Marcello Mascherini.
On the top floor, the one for the later 20th century, almost all the works were bought at the Venice Biennales, from the first in 1895 to those between 1948 and 1968.
The museum was to bear “forever the name Museo Revoltella” and be “open to the public every day”. To run it, in his will of 13 October 1866 the baron had set up a board of curators. And even the works bought after his death were paid for with the donations he himself had made to the city.
It was the home of Baron Pasquale Revoltella, who on his death in 1869 left it to the city with its artworks, furniture and books. In 1872 the city turned it into a museum: the oldest gallery in Italy devoted specifically to modern art.
The Renaissance-style palazzo was built in 1858 to a design by the Berlin architect Friedrich Hitzig, a pupil of Schinkel. Inside you can visit the baron's apartment, with inlaid floors, painted ceilings and original stuccowork, linked by a theatrical spiral staircase.
The rooms hold the works Revoltella collected: marble groups by Pietro Magni, historical scenes, landscapes and portraits from the first half of the 19th century.
To expand the collection, in 1907 the city bought the neighbouring Palazzo Brunner, fully opened only in 1963 after its renovation by Carlo Scarpa; Palazzo Basevi was added later. Today the three buildings offer about 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.
The route climbs floor by floor through time: Italian artists of the second half of the 19th century, the early decades of the 20th century, the artists of Friuli Venezia Giulia and finally the later 20th century. In all there are about 350 paintings and sculptures.
The names are many and important: Canova, Hayez, Fattori, De Nittis, Medardo Rosso, de Chirico, Casorati, Morandi, Fontana, Burri. A whole section is devoted to the Trieste sculptor Marcello Mascherini.
On the top floor, the one for the later 20th century, almost all the works were bought at the Venice Biennales, from the first in 1895 to those between 1948 and 1968.
The museum was to bear “forever the name Museo Revoltella” and be “open to the public every day”. To run it, in his will of 13 October 1866 the baron had set up a board of curators. And even the works bought after his death were paid for with the donations he himself had made to the city.