Art museum · 20th century · Savona, Liguria

Sandro Pertini and Renata Cuneo Museum — Savona

The Sandro Pertini and Renata Cuneo Museum in Savona is a civic museum dedicated to two of Liguria’s most distinguished 20th-century figures: Sandro Pertini (1896–1990), partisan, socialist politician, and seventh President of the Italian Republic, and Renata Cuneo (1903–1995), one of the leading Italian sculptors of her generation. The museum holds documents, photographs, and personal memorabilia relating to Pertini’s life, alongside a significant collection of Cuneo’s bronze and terracotta sculptures, situating both within the political and cultural history of 20th-century Italy.

At a glance

Type: Civic art and memorial museum
Period: Dedicated to 20th-century figures; museum established late 20th century
Style: Modern figurative sculpture (Cuneo); political and biographical archive (Pertini)
Location: Savona, Liguria, Italy
Coordinates: 44.3048° N, 8.4826° E
Subjects: Sandro Pertini (1896–1990), President of Italy 1978–1985; Renata Cuneo (1903–1995), sculptor

Overview

Savona, a port city on the Ligurian Riviera, claims both Pertini and Cuneo as native children and honours them in a shared museum that interweaves political memory with artistic achievement. Pertini’s section documents his decades as a resistance fighter during World War II, his long imprisonment under Fascism, and his presidency — a term marked by exceptional popular approval across the Italian political spectrum. Cuneo’s section presents her career as a sculptor trained under Arturo Martini, with works ranging from portrait busts to large-scale figurative bronzes inspired by the Ligurian landscape and human form.

History

Sandro Pertini was born in Stella, a village in the Savonese hinterland, and spent formative years in Savona before his political career took him to Turin, Milan, and eventually Rome. His arrest, trial by the Special Tribunal for the Defence of the State, and imprisonment by the Fascist regime made him a national symbol of antifascist resistance. Renata Cuneo studied at the Genoa Academy and under Arturo Martini in Venice, developing a figurative style marked by psychological intensity and formal solidity. Both figures died in the 1990s, and the museum was established to preserve their legacies in their home city.

What you see

The Pertini section displays personal documents, letters, photographs, and objects from his life as a politician and president, including materials relating to his famous acts of popular spontaneity — such as skiing holidays and public appearances that endeared him to Italians across party lines. The Cuneo section presents bronzes, terracottas, and drawings spanning her career from student work in the 1920s to mature large-scale pieces, with particular emphasis on her portrait sculptures and her monumental public commissions in Liguria.

Cultural significance

The museum commemorates two figures who, in very different registers, embodied the best of 20th-century Italian civic culture: Pertini the principled politician who transcended partisan divisions, and Cuneo the disciplined artist who combined modernist rigour with deep attachment to her Ligurian roots. Together they represent Savona’s claim to a distinctive place in the national cultural heritage of the post-war republic.

Practical information

Address: Savona, Liguria, Italy (check official website for current address and opening times)
Opening hours: Check official website for current schedule
Admission: Check official website

Getting there

Savona is connected by train to Genova Piazza Principe (approximately 50 minutes) and to Turin Porta Nuova (approximately 2 hours) via the Riviera line. From Savona station, the city centre museums are reachable on foot or by local bus. By car, take the A10 autostrada from Genoa or the A6 from Turin to the Savona exit.

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