Civiche Raccolte d’Arte di Palazzo Marliani Cicogna

The Busto Arsizio 'civic historical and artistic museum' was formally established in 1960, on the basis of the work of the committee created in 1959 with the task of shaping the idea of a City Museum to house the various artistic works, including local ones, that had become part of the municipal heritage. Already in 1931, an initial nucleus of works by Emilio Magistretti had been donated to the City, with the intention of establishing a picture gallery. The ten paintings donated in 1927 by the painter himself to the Società Bustese di Storia e d'Arte were in turn donated by the latter to the Municipality. However, the idea of the museum remained on paper for several years, even after the institution of the Civic Art Collections, due to the lack of a suitable venue to display the collections, which were temporarily housed in Palazzo Gilardoni, the seat of the Municipality.
In 1990, the museum was finally opened in its current location, Palazzo Marliani Cicogna, restored over the years to allow for the doubling of exhibition space, the opening of equipped storage areas for works, service areas for archives and the library, as well as an area for temporary exhibitions. Numerous and varied exhibitions have been hosted by the museum over the years. From exhibitions dedicated to local artists of the first half of the 20th century, to those of historical value, which have shown images, research and documents relating to the territory, to those of educational value and themed workshops, proposed to schools and families, to bring the collection to life through a playful yet instructive approach. Over the years, the museum has proposed, among others, major exhibitions dedicated to the Bustotto artists Arturo Tosi and Daniele Crespi. Currently, the museum hosts the contemporary art exhibition container 'A Space for Art'.