Castello di Masnago

On the first floor of the fifteenth-century wing of the Masnago Castle, a new layout has been set up that includes 60 works of art, including paintings and sculptures that are iconic images of the Varese municipal collection from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Musei Civici are closely linked to Varese, not only because the works of art document painters and sculptors active in the city, but more importantly because of the role of collectors, thanks to whom the Museums came into being. For example, it was the charity donated by Amelia Bolchini De Grandi in 1965 that enabled the Municipality to establish the first important nucleus of works of art in the modern Musei Civici.
In the years that followed, the collection grew thanks to significant acquisitions, which came through donations - such as the Valaperta canvas, a gift from Riccardo Lampugnani, or Hayez's Tamar, donated by Sai Vita. The selection of works from the Municipality's permanent collection continues with the modern evolution of portraiture and the representation of the human figure, a protagonist in the 19th and early 20th century with several female portraits and effigies of members of the Villa family. Giacomo Balla's Child with Flowers, a masterpiece marking the transition from 19th century academic painting to avant-garde painting, also stands out. A different theme, also strongly identifying the area, is the presentation of a series of works that refer to the theme of work. On display are portraits of intellectuals and men of letters, as well as professionals: the working universe of Federico Gariboldi, Giuseppe Montanari, Enrico Butti, Anselmo Bucci and Mario Broggi. In the last two rooms, the alternation of natural and industrial environment in our landscape is represented. Among the protagonists are Domenico De Bernardi, Federico Gariboldi, Lodovico Cavaleri, and above all Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo.