Figurine Museum – Palazzo Santa Margherita
The Museo della Figurina (Figurine Museum) is a museum dedicated to collectible picture cards — chromolithographic inserts included in consumer products from the late nineteenth century onward. Opened on 15 December 2006 inside Palazzo Santa Margherita in the historic centre of Modena, it holds one of the most important collections of its kind in Europe, documenting the art, commerce, and social history of the picture card over more than 150 years.
At a glance
- Type
- Speciality museum of chromolithographic collectible cards
- Period
- Opened 15 December 2006; collection covers approximately 1860s–present
- Style
- Historic palace (Palazzo Santa Margherita, Modena)
- Location
- Corso Canalgrande, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Coordinates
- 44.6473° N, 10.9308° E
Overview
The Museo della Figurina is a museum dedicated to collectible cards — small printed images distributed as premiums inside everyday consumer products such as cocoa, coffee, and cigarettes. Opened on 15 December 2006, it is located inside Palazzo Santa Margherita in Modena, Italy. The museum preserves a collection of hundreds of thousands of items that trace the history of mass printing, popular culture, and commercial advertising from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.
History
The collecting and exchanging of small printed cards — known in Italian as figurine — became a mass popular pastime in Italy and across Europe from the 1860s onward, when chromolithography made colourful, detailed images inexpensive to produce. Modena’s museum was established to preserve this ephemeral but culturally rich tradition. The collection was assembled over decades by enthusiasts and later formalised into a civic institution. Its home, Palazzo Santa Margherita, is a historic palace in the centre of Modena that also houses the Galleria Civica, making the building a multi-venue cultural destination.
What you see
The museum’s displays are organised thematically, covering the history of chromolithography, the role of figurine in advertising and commerce, their social function as objects exchanged among children and collectors, and their graphic evolution from Victorian-era trade cards to modern football sticker albums. Original printing equipment, manufacturer catalogues, and thematic series — flora, fauna, geography, sport, mythology — illustrate the breadth of this popular art form. Temporary exhibitions regularly draw from the extensive reserve collection.
Cultural significance
The Museo della Figurina preserves a form of printed culture that shaped popular visual literacy across Europe for over a century. As mass-produced chromolithography, these objects sit at the intersection of fine printing, commercial art, and everyday social life — fields often overlooked by major institutions — making Modena’s collection an internationally important resource for historians of print and popular culture.
Practical information
- Address
- Corso Canalgrande 103, 41121 Modena MO, Italy
- Opening hours
- Check official website or contact the Galleria Civica di Modena for current hours
- Admission
- Check official website for current admission fees
Getting there
Palazzo Santa Margherita is located in the historic centre of Modena, a short walk from Piazza Grande and the UNESCO-listed Modena Cathedral. Modena railway station is approximately 15 minutes on foot. From the station, bus lines operated by SETA serve the city centre. If arriving by car, use the ZTL-compliant parking areas on the periphery of the historic centre and proceed on foot.