Museo Civico di Bassano
The Museo Civico di Bassano del Grappa, in Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, is a civic museum founded in 1828 — one of the oldest in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Housed since 1840 in the former convent of San Francesco, it holds the world’s largest collection of works by the Bassano-born Renaissance painter Jacopo da Ponte, alongside an exceptional archive devoted to the sculptor Antonio Canova.
At a glance
- Type
- Civic museum and art gallery
- Period
- Founded 1828; in the ex-convent of San Francesco from 1840
- Style
- Museum within a former Franciscan convent
- Location
- Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Bassano del Grappa, Veneto
Overview
The Museo Civico di Bassano was established in 1828 and is set in the former convent of San Francesco in the heart of Bassano del Grappa. Its holdings span natural history, archaeology, a lapidary collection and a picture gallery of more than 500 paintings ranging from the 13th to the 20th century. It is one of the principal cultural institutions of the upper Veneto.
History
The museum was founded in 1828 and from 1840 occupied the suppressed convent of San Francesco. Its early collections grew from natural-history holdings — including material left by the naturalist Giambattista Brocchi — and from paintings gathered after the Napoleonic-era suppression of churches and convents, which had been stored beside the convent cloister from 1831. Over time the patrimony expanded to such an extent that only part can be displayed at any one time; the spaces were enlarged again in June 2011.
What you see
Visitors encounter archaeological sections covering the Paleo-Venetic, Magna Graecia, Roman and medieval periods; a cloister lapidary of memorial stones, coats of arms, inscriptions and architectural fragments from the 13th century onward; and a picture gallery of over 500 works. The museum holds the largest existing collection of paintings by Jacopo da Ponte (Jacopo Bassano) and his workshop, while its Canova section gathers some three thousand autograph drawings, the sculptor’s letters, library, sketches, plaster casts and a unique series of monochromes.
Cultural significance
As one of the oldest civic museums in the Veneto, the institution preserves the artistic legacy of Bassano del Grappa’s most celebrated son, Jacopo Bassano, and a documentary heart of the work of Antonio Canova. Together these collections make it a reference point for the study of Venetian painting and Neoclassical sculpture.
Practical information
Museo Civico, Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Bassano del Grappa, Veneto. The museum hosts temporary exhibitions on a regular basis; check the official website for current opening hours and admission.
Getting there
The museum is in the historic centre of Bassano del Grappa, in the Province of Vicenza. The town is reached by rail and road from Vicenza, Padua and Treviso; the nearest airports are Venice and Treviso.