Pinacoteca Civica

piazza Aristide Arzano, 1 - 15057 Tortona (AL)
Palazzo Guidobono
E-mail: manuelamarini@comune.tortona.al.it

The Civic Art Gallery is home to more than 300 works, just enough to give an idea of the artistic culture of Tortona between the 16th and 20th centuries, inaugurated in its revamped form in April 2024. The oldest section is a series of religious works, presumably from suppressed churches or convents, granted on loan for use to the Diocesan Museum, where some are currently on show. Separate from these in terms of subject matteris a Bambocciata attributed to Faustino Bocchi and a copy or derivative work dated 1660 of La Clemenza di Alessandro by Charles Le Brun.

The portrait gallery of the noble quadreria is large, beginning with a magnificent portrait of the Marquis of Durazzo and continuing with a half bust of Admiral Amedeo III King of Sardinia dating to 1774-75, finishing with the contemporary portraits that immortalize several illustrious figures from Tortona such as the composer Lorenzo Perosi, Saint Luigi Orione and the politician Giuseppe Romita. The work by Giuseppe Savina is all based on historical references; he was a talented painter of the Romantic period from Tortona, a student of Hayez, but died too young (at just 25 years of age) to achieve the fame which the talent, already evident in his work in the civic portrait gallery, would surely have given him.

The delicate and varied work of Cesare Saccaggi is well documented and the landscapes of the painters of Tortona between the 19th and 20th centuries are of sure interest. Some were also well-known outside the local area: Angelo Barabino, Mario Patri, Pietro Dossola. A clear watercolor by Pietro Bagetti immortalizes the fortress of Tortona protagonist in all its impotence in 1796. This is the last view of Tortona with its historical castle: in 1801, the fort was demolished by order of Napoleon.

The Artistic Collections are completed by a gallery of busts, made of marble or plaster, of figures who have illustrated the history of Tortona, from Napoleon Bonaparte to the Generals Giuseppe Passalacqua and Antonio Ferrari, gold medals of the Risorgimento and a large series of canvases of the Tortona school all restored from 2020 to date, on display at length in the offices of the Mayor and the Council at the Town Hall.

OPENING TIMES: Saturday or Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

*CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS 2024*
The museum will be open at the usual times, Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.