The Civic Museum of Crema (Italian: Museo civico di Crema e del Cremasco) is an Italian

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

located in

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product), the Spanish word for cream * ''Cremà ...

. It was founded in 1960 in what had been a 15th-century

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. There are sections for archeology, history and art.G. Cervi, ''Cremona e provincia'', Touring Club Italiano, 2007.

The headquarters and its historical events

The museum is housed in the former convent of Sant'Agostino, founded in 1439 and centered around the two

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

cloisters. A wing of the second cloister is occupied by the large

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

painted in 1507 by the painter Pietro da Cemmo. In 1797, the Autonomous Municipality of Crema, born following the constitution of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...

, suppressed the convent and turn the complex into a hospital. Soon after, it changed its destination again, becoming a barracks. In 1945 the barracks was decommissioned and the area, owned by the State, was given in use to the City of Crema, which used it temporarily as a warehouse and shelter for homeless and displaced people because of the conflict. Only in 1959 the Municipality managed to acquire the building and to start, under the direction of the architect Amos Edallo, important redevelopment works, in order to allocate the former convent to a cultural use. In addition to the new Civic Museum, the building also housed for many years the Municipal Library, now moved to the Palazzo Benzoni.

Museum History

After decades of requests from the citizens, the institution of the Museum was made official by municipal decision in 1959. The works started under the direction of Edallo, and soon led to a first provisional arrangement of the material in the meantime collected. In May 1963 the actual inauguration took place: the museum's patrimony had been subdivided into some sections: historical, musical, artistic, but also

cartographic Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

, ceramist, numismatic, folkloristic and

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

. In addition to the figure of Edallo, it can be remembered in particular the involvement of Winifred Treni De Gregory and the painter Gianetto Biondini, who edited the craft section but especially the artistic one, one of the most substantial of the museum heritage. In 1965 two new sections were inaugurated: that of the

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

relics and the archaeological one, made particularly rich by the discovery shortly before some

Longobard The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

tombs in the area of

Offanengo Offanengo ( Cremasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Offanengo borders the following municipalities: Casaletto di Sopra, C ...

. In May 2014, the new section of modern and contemporary art was inaugurated, enlarged compared to the previous nucleus and dedicated to works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, selected by the art critic

Cesare Alpini Cesare Alpini (born 9 May 1956) is an Italian art historian. Born in Crema, Lombardy Crema (; Eastern Lombard, Cremasco: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the rive ...

. The following year was established the section of organaria art, homage to the tradition of the city of Crema in the realization of

pipe organs The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

and the first Italian museum dedicated to this theme

Collections and organization of sections

Archeological section

It shows

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s and remains of animals like

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, bison and aurochs found in the area and dating back to the

Paleolithic Era The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...

, but also items belonging to the

Neolithic Era The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, to the Bronze and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

s, to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

period.A. Pavesi, ''Guida al Museo civico di Crema e del Cremasco'', Crema, 1994.

Historical section

The historical section collects documents, memorabilia and objects of the ages from the end of the Middle Ages. Some documents testify the political and social reality of the city of Crema under the rule of the Serenissima. An important nucleus consists of documents of the 1797, year of the fall of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, the constitution by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

of the ephemeral Cremasca Republic and its immediate annexation to the

. Some papers from the Habsburg Era are ideally followed by a rich repertoire of memorabilia, documents and memories of the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, witnesses of the presence in Crema of important personalities of the time, such as Enrico Martini and Vincenzo Toffetti and of the visits to the city made by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1862 and

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...

in 1859. With regard to the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, there are significant relics of General Fortunato Marazzi and Infantry Major Umberto Fadini, Cremaschi characters who had important roles in the conflict.

Artistic section

Giovanni Battista Lucini - Miracle of Saint Peter of Alcantara

The artistic section, mainly pictorial, collects works of art from the 16th century to the present day. Of the oldest centuries there are works by

Vincenzo Civerchio Vincenzo Civerchio or Civercio (c. 1470c. 1544) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, born at Crema, and active also in Brescia, where there are some of his alter-pieces. One of his works is at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., ...

, Carlo Urbino,

Gian Giacomo Barbelli Giovanni Giacomo Barbelli (17 April 1604 – 12 July 1656) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Lombardy. He was a canvas and fresco painter known for his religious and mythological scenes that decorate many churches and ...

Giovanni Battista Lucini Giovanni Battista Lucini or Giovan Battista Lucini (9 July 1639 – 14 or 15 September 1686) was an Italian painter who produced many religious compositions for the religious institutions in Crema. He was active in the region in and around Crema ...

, Tommaso Pombioli (called Il ''Conciabricci''), Tommaso and Mauro Picenardi. A significant component of the museum's collection is the modern and contemporary art section, which includes paintings and sculptures by 19th and 20th century Cremaschi artists such as Eugenio Giuseppe Conti,

Angelo Bacchetta Angelo Bacchetta (1841–1920) was an Italian painter. Biography He studied at the Brera Academy, where he made friends with Filippo Carcano, under the tutelage of Francesco Hayez. After leaving the Academy prematurely, he moved to Florence (1 ...

Camilla Marazzi Camilla Marazzi (26 April 1885 in Lugano, Switzerland - October 1911 in Rome) was an Italian artist who died at a young age. Biography Marazzi was the daughter of Antonio Marazzi, a diplomat and anthropologist. She was also the niece of Fo ...

, Amos Edallo,

Carlo Martini Carlo Martini (1908–1958) was an Italian painter and academician. Biography He studied in Brera Academy of Milan under the tutelage of Aldo Carpi. He moved to England in 1938. He lived in London and Glasgow. He came back in Italy in 1940 due ...

, Achille Barbaro, Carlo Fayer, Gianetto Biondini and Federico Boriani. The Museum also houses paintings by the Francesco Arata of Castelleone and

Trento Longaretti Trento Longaretti (27 September 1916 – 7 June 2017) was an Italian painter. He studied at the Brera Academy in the 1930s, where he was taught by renowned artists, including painters Aldo Carpi and Pompeo Borra, and sculptors Francesco Messin ...

of Treviso. In addition to the cremasca artistic production, there are some paintings in the museum by other Italian and foreign authors, about subjects related to the events of Crema and some of its illustrious citizens. Particularly noteworthy are the paintings Enrico Martini, diplomat in Russia by Karl Pavlovič Bryulov and Gli ostaggi di Crema by

Gaetano Previati Gaetano Previati (1852 – 1920) was an Italian Symbolist painter in the Divisionist style. Biography Previati was born in Ferrara. He relocated to Milan in 1876 and enrolled at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, studying under Giuseppe Bertini, G ...

, owned by the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and stored at the Cremasco museum. A second painting, Christ and the Apostles, is also in the museum. Cremasca is also a Portrait of Alberico Hall of

Aligi Sassu Aligi Sassu (17 July 1912 – 17 July 2000) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Biography Aligi Sassu was born in Milan, Lombardy. He was the son of Lina Pedretti (from Parma, Emilia) and Antonio Sassu (from Sassari, Sardinia). His father ...

. In contrast, some paintings by

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vi ...

, Bronzino,

Fra Galgario Fra’ Galgario (4 March 1655 – December 1743), born Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi, and also called ''Fra’ Vittore del Galgario'', was an Italian painter, mainly active in Bergamo as a portraitist during the Rococo or late- Baroque period. Bio ...

, Magnasco, Cignaroli and, more recently, a Portrait of a Man by Domenico Induno are unrelated to the Cremasco context.

Music section

The section bears witness to the musical tradition of Crema, the birthplace of composers such as Francesco Cavalli and Giovanni Bottesini and home of the Pacifico organ builders Inzoli and Giovanni Tamburini. Linked to the musical tradition is the scenographic one: the Civic Museum in fact preserves numerous sketches and cartoons of the cremaschi Luigi Manini and Antonio Rovescalli, painters and scenographers of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. This section was recently dismantled to make way for the new staging of the Art Section.Museo Civico di Crema e del Cremasco, su comune.crema.cr.it.

References

Bibliography

*A. Pavesi, ''Guida al Museo civico di Crema e del Cremasco'', Crema, 1994. * Antonio Pavesi, Guida al Museo civico di Crema e del Cremasco, Crema, 1994. * Silvia Merico e Carlo Bruschieri, Crema, Claudio Madoglio Editore, 2003. *''Museo civico di Crema e del Cremasco. Sezione di arte moderna e contemporanea'', Crema, 1995. *G. Cervi, ''Cremona e provincia'', Touring Club Italiano, 2007.

External links

{{Authority control Museums in Lombardy Art museums and galleries in Lombardy