Museo Civico e Gipsoteca Bistolfi

The Civic Museum is located in the ancient Augustinian convent of Santa Croce which in its two cloisters preserves fresco decorations by Guglielmo Caccia known as Il Moncalvo with the help of Giorgio Alberini. Twenty-four rooms are home to more than five hundred works which represent a rich heritage closely linked to the history of the town and Piedmontese and Lombard art. The Museum is divided into two sections: the Picture gallery, on the first floor, exhibits a fine series of paintings with works by Martino Spanzotti, Guglielmo Caccia known as Il Moncalvo, Niccolò Musso (Self-portrait), Pietro Francesco Guala, Angelo Morbelli. The exhibition is completed by several marble busts dating from the Roman period, ancient wooden and ceramic sculptures. On the ground floor are the five rooms of the Gipsoteca (Gallery of Plaster casts) of Leonardo Bistolfi (1859 – 1933), one of the few Italian collections able to illustrate the entire creative path of a sculptor in its fullness. More than 170 works of the symbolist maestro from Casale who achieved international fame are on show: sculptures in terracotta, raw earth, plasticine, sketches and models in plaster, works in marble and bronze and some drawings and paintings. The museum offer is also enriched by the exhibition entitled “Carlo Vidua. Una vita in viaggio, dal Monferrato all’Estremo Oriente (1785-1830)”, the extraordinary ethnographic collection of Carlo Vidua, known as the Travelling Count because from 1818 until the year of his death he travelled tirelessly around the five continents, buying, gathering and recovering any type of material that he was curious about and that could bear witness to the place, customs and peoples he had just visited. In the small cloister you can admire the Renaissance portal from the former Church of Santa Maria di Piazza. Opening times: Thursday 8.30 am -12.30 pm and 2.30 pm - 4.30 pm; Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10.30 am -1 pm and 3 pm - 6.30pm; Extraordinary closing dates: 24 and 25 December all day - 31 December and 1 January all day. Tickets: full price €8 reduced €5 (students up to 29 years of age, over 65s, affiliated associations); reduced €4 for groups; free (to 16 years of age, invalids and carers, Museum Subscription, on the occasion of Casale Città Open -- second Sunday of the month and preceding Saturday, in August only Sunday). For other admission rates refer to the Museum website. * USEFUL INFO ON ACCESSIBILITY * The Picture Gallery is mostly accessible to people with motor disabilities; there are several steps along the way. The Plaster cast Gallery is completely accessible to people with motor disabilities. Vidua Room: inaccessible; the "Wunderkammer 4.0" project has been implemented providing barrier-free use of part of the Egyptian collection of Carlo Vidua with tactile and multimedia mode. Presence of diaper changing area and child/mother area. * * * * * * * * * SMARTPHONES BECOME AUDIOGUIDES FOR THE WORKS OF THE CIVIC MUSEUM AND BISTOLFI PLASTER CAST GALLERY (also for younger visitors) Welcome to the Civic Museum and Leonardo Bistolfi Plaster cast gallery of Casale Monferrato. These are the first words that the visitors to the civic collections can hear of the audio track directly on their smartphone thanks to the new QR codes present in the Museum rooms. Fabio Fazi, an actor from Casale, has recorded the thirty-nine audio tracks which will accompany visitors from the moment they set foot inside the museum. Easy texts, which will provide useful information to understand the story and historical and artistic value of the collections held and exhibited by the Civic Museum of Casale Monferrato. There are also five audio tracks along the route dedicated to younger visitors, making it possible to involve families with children and transform the visit into a shared moment. Starting with a short story of the Museum, the children can get to know the figure of Nicolò Musso, explore and contextualize the three great portraits present in the Risorgimento Room, and more. * * * * * * * * * * * * EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOOLS For more information refer to the Museum website.