MUSEO ANTIQUARIUM DI OSSUCCIO

The first news of its existence dates back to a will of 1169 in which the church of Santa Maria Maddalena and the hospital itself are mentioned. Initially, the economic management of the hospital was entrusted to a deacon and later to the Giovio family, whose role was officially recognised by Pope Alexander VI with a bull in 1496.In 1898, a portion of the complex housed the municipality, while the remaining part was used as residences and stables. After the death of the last descendant of the Giovio family in 1907, the Hospitalis became the "Opera Pia Giovio" and in 1959 the Suore Adoratrici del Santissimo Sacramento (Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament Sisters), who were already using some of the rooms as a rest home (until 1969), settled in. A carpentry workshop was also set up in the basement, later replaced by an olive press that operated until 1982. In 1992, the premises that housed the municipal offices were entrusted to the 'Soccorsina' sports club. The AntiquariumBefore the intervention, the building had a room in the basement where the press and a small bathroom were located, while the ground floor was used by the Sports Society as a warehouse and there was a recreation room for music rehearsals. The room now used as a conference room had no function, while the first floor had two communicating rooms that were available after the latest renovations in the late 1990s, during which several old structural elements were removed. The renovation work that brought the Antiquarium to its current conformation wanted to preserve the traces of the surviving original structures as well as the more recent interventions as a testimony to the building's history and because they were useful for a functional recovery of the building. The rooms on the first floor were connected by a central masonry staircase built in the 1990s, and the rooms on the basement, ground and mezzanine floors were only accessible from the outside. With the work carried out, the intention was to refunctionalise the available spaces and their connections, providing the structure with a new balcony and staircase body in iron and glass. The insertion of a lift, for which the minimum impact on the existing structure was sought, was useful for easy access to the four levels of the Antiquarium, as well as to make each room accessible to the disabled, thus overcoming the architectural barriers present. In addition, some traces of impromptu decorative intentions were also preserved during the plasterwork restoration. The Antiquarium today The Antiquarium is now a structure capable of integrating the cultural offer of the place, guaranteed by the archaeological sites on the adjacent Isola Comacina, with the exhibition of archaeological finds and possible multimedia insights. The Antiquarium is also a point and departure point for visits to the Island itself, thus providing a Visitor Centre service that could not be found on the Island. The services provided are therefore reception, bookshop, permanent museum set-up, a small conference and educational activities room, direct and multimedia consultation of the preserved materials, technical rooms and public toilets.