Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo

Bergamo, Italy

The Accademia Carrara is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo. The origins of the art gallery lie with the Count Giacomo Carrara, a wealthy collector and patron of the arts, who left a generous legacy to the city of Bergamo at the end of the 18th century. After the Count's death, in 1796, his properties were managed by a nominated commissary until 1958, when the Comune di Bergamo took over direct supervision. In 1810, a new building in the neoclassical style was constructed, the project being undertaken by the architect Simone Elia, a pupil of Leopoldo Pollack.

The museum has continued to augment its collections both with purchases and donations. As of 2006, it possesses 1,800 paintings dating from the 15th to the 19th century, and by artists including Pisanello, Botticelli, Bellini, Carpaccio, Mantegna, Raphael, Moroni, Baschenis, Fra Galgario, Tiepolo, Canaletto and Piccio.

Besides paintings, there are drawings and prints, bronzes and sculptures, as well as collections of porcelain, furniture and medals.

In 1793, at the same time as the public opening of his gallery, the Count Giacomo Carrara desired that drawing and painting courses be initiated in the same place. The school, which was located in the same building as the art gallery until 1912, now has its own premises nearby. Since 1988, it has been an officially recognized Accademia di Belle Arti (Fine Arts Academy).

In 1991, the modern art gallery Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAMEC) was opened on the opposite side of the road in a partially restored 14th-century monastery that had previously been used as a barracks. Presently, it has ten exhibition halls, on three floors. Since the purchase of the Gianfranco and Luigia Spajani collection in June 1999 the permanent collections have contained works by Italian and foreign artists of the 20th century.

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Details

Founded: 1810
Category: Museums in Italy

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

H L (3 months ago)
Very cute museum! Prior to entering you must put your bags into lockers. Pretty spacious so no problem fitting my bag. Felt very safe, but if you want to be safe you should leave your valuables at home or keep them on you.
Vickey Chen (5 months ago)
Lovely museum with a good collection of artworks. Had a wonderful time learning and exploring in here. Lovely portraits and a must to go on the tour for better understanding of the stories of their museum. I highly recommend this place to visitors to Bergamo. It takes just a couple of hours and it’s a lovely walk around the area.
Jonny Hughes (7 months ago)
Had the place to ourselves after visiting on Wednesday at 6pm! Some fine paintings in the collection - Bellini, Mantegna and Moroni the highlights for me. Well lit and interpreted in English as well as Italian
Tomas Harasta (8 months ago)
Beautiful big gallery. So worth seeing if you are i to Renessaince art.
Zuzana Pekarek (10 months ago)
I'm not really a gallery type, but it was a nice experience. I loved the entrance full of flowers and pieces of paintings.
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