The Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, often known as Museo Madre, or Donnaregina Contemporary Art Museum, is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, in

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

in southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is housed in the Palazzo Donnaregina, which was adapted for it by the Portuguese architect

Álvaro Siza Vieira Álvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira (born 25 June 1933) is a Portuguese architect, and architectural educator. He is internationally known as Álvaro Siza () and in Portugal as Siza Vieira (). Early life and education Siza was born in Matosi ...

. The museum opened in 2005.

About

Among the artists represented in the permanent collections are or were

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...

Mimmo Paladino Mimmo Paladino (born in Paduli on 18 December 1948) is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker. He is a leading name in the Transvanguardia artistic movement and one of the many European artists to revive Expressionism in the 1980s. Biograp ...

, Richard Long,

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942) are artists who work together as the collaborative art duo Gilbert & George. They are known for their formal appearance ...

(''Shitty World''),

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the United Ki ...

Jannis Kounellis Jannis Kounellis (; 23 March 1936 – 16 February 2017) was a Greek Italian artist based in Rome. A key figure associated with Arte Povera, he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Life and work Kounellis was born in Piraeus, Greece i ...

Giulio Paolini Giulio Paolini (born 5 November 1940) is an Italian artist associated with both Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. Biography Paolini was born in Genoa. After a childhood spent in Bergamo, he moved with his family to Turin where he still lives today ...

Francesco Clemente Francesco Clemente (born 23 March 1952) is an Italian contemporary artist. He has lived at various times in Italy, India and New York City. Some of his work is influenced by the traditional art and culture of India. He has worked in various a ...

Rebecca Horn Rebecca Horn (24 March 1944 – 6 September 2024) was a German visual artist best known for her installation art, film directing and body modifications such as ''Einhorn'' (Unicorn), a body-suit with a very large horn projecting vertically from ...

Mario Merz Mario Merz (1 January 1925 – 9 November 2003) was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz. Life Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the ''Giustizia e Libertà'' ant ...

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

and

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson (; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience. In 1995, ...

. The museum also mounts temporary exhibitions. The museum is organised on four floors of the palace;, on the roof terrace is ''Cavallo'', a sculpture by Mimmo Paladino which the museum bought in 2007. Access to the church of

Santa Maria Donnaregina Vecchia Santa Donna Regina Vecchia is a church in Naples, in southern Italy. It is called ''Vecchia'' ("old") to distinguish it from the newer and adjacent church of Santa Maria Donna Regina Nuova. The earliest mention of a church on this site is from th ...

is through the museum.

Controversy

The museum has been the subject of considerable controversy. In 2009 the million-euro budget of the exhibition ''Barock'' led to a public dispute between Eduardo Cicelyn, at that time director of the museum, and Guido Cabib, an art dealer. In February 2011 the entire board of management of the Fondazione Donnaregina resigned. Artists and institutions which had sent works to the museum on permanent loan asked for them to be returned – requests were received for the return of 86 of the 104 works in the collection. Cicelyn estimated the transport costs at €100,000, and the insurance value of the works at more than €5000 million.

References

{{Museums of Naples Donnaregina Tourist attractions in Naples Contemporary art galleries in Italy