The Pinacoteca Civica di Palazzo Volpi is the town art gallery on Via Diaz 84 in the town of Como, Lombardy, Italy. It is housed in the 17th-century Palazzo Volpi.
History
The palace was erected from 1610 to 1630 by the Catholic nuncio and bishop of Novara, Ulpiano Volpi. He commissioned the sober Renaissance-style design from the architect Sergio Venturi. The building in the 20th century served as a courthouse until the 1970s.
Presently it is a civic art gallery. It houses collections whose core pre-19th-century works come from suppressed ecclesiastic institutions. For example, it houses Carolingian sculptures from the church of Sant'Abbondio as well as Romanesque and Gothic sculptures and frescoes. It contains a display of Paolo Giovio's portraits of illustrious men. It houses items from the Como Cathedral, including stained glass windows, sculptures, tapestries and wooden models. Among the paintings are:
- Virgin (Virgo advocata) attributed to Jacomart and Pere Joan Reixach
- Country Concert painted on 16th-century table by Ambrosius Benson
- Birth of the Virgin tapestry from the Como Cathedral
- Illuminated Libro d'Ore from Milan
- Nativity, panel by Giovanni Andrea de Magistris, father of Simone de Magistris
- Madonna with Child among Saints Cosma and Damiano (1515) fresco by the Master of the SS. Cosma and Damiano
- Fall of the Rebel Angels by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli named "Morazzone", lunette from chapel in San Giovanni Pedemonte
- Triumph of the Archangel Michael by Carlo Francesco Nuvolone, lunette from chapel in San Giovanni Pedemonte
- Miracle of the Eucharist (1629) by Cristoforo Caresana, canvas from the chapel of San Pietro Martire of San Giovanni Pedemonte
- St Peter healing a Young Man (1629) by Giovanni Paolo Ghianda, canvas from the chapel of San Pietro Martire of San Giovanni Pedemonte
- Madonna Assunta with Saints Roch, Catherine, and Agnes by a young Giulio Cesare Procaccini
- St Helena and the True Cross, Birth of John the Baptist, and Event of Sinite Parvulos, canvases from the Palazzo Olginati
- Works by Giovanni Pietro Gnocchi
- Portrait of Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna (1559) portrait of the prince of Sabbioneta in arms of a Habsburg official parade by Bernardino Campi
- Guardian Angel by Pietro Ligari
- Works in the style of Futurism by Antonio Sant'Elia
- Abstract art by Como Group
- Works by Ico Parisi
References
- Beni Culturali of Italy, website.
45°48′27″N 9°05′00″E / 45.8074°N 9.0833°E / 45.8074; 9.0833
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