Rome, Museo del Corso opens, a new cultural hub in the heart of the capital

A new cultural hub comes to life in the heart of Rome, enriching the capital’s artistic offerings. In fact, today opens the Museo del Corso - Museum Pole, a project strongly desired by the Fondazione Roma, which was born from the merger of two historic buildings of great architectural and cultural value: Palazzo Sciarra Colonna and Palazzo Cipolla, located along Via del Corso.

The new museum aims to be a point of reference for international culture, with a program full of temporary exhibitions that will pay tribute to great masters of world art. Among the most anticipated exhibitions are those dedicated to Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Its opening coincides with one of the most significant events of the Jubilee: the exhibition of Marc Chagall’s famous painting The White Crucifixion, which will be on display at Palazzo Cipolla from November 27, 2024 to January 27, 2025 with free admission.

This work of great symbolic impact, which came to Rome thanks to a collaboration between the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Fondazione Roma, was created by the Russian painter of Jewish origin in 1938, a year marked by the tragic events of the Night of the Crystal. The painting, which recounts a powerful reflection on suffering and hope, has also received high praise from Pope Francis, who stressed its powerful message of unity among different religious cultures and defense of human dignity.

The Museo del Corso thus presents itself as a cultural institution capable of uniting past and present, offering an itinerary that mixes art, history and memory. The two buildings that house the museum are true treasure chests of artistic and historical treasures, each with its own identity and unique contribution to Rome’s cultural narrative.

“Today we are finally realizing a dream we have long carried in our hearts: that of creating a new cultural hub available to citizens,” says Franco Parasassi, president of Fondazione Roma. “The new Museo del Corso - Museum Pole is a space designed for the city, a project conceived for the territory that enhances our artistic heritage. We are happy to be able to open the doors of our home to allow people to admire the works we hold, masterpieces linked to Rome or created by authors who have lived and worked in the capital: a journey through the history of art from the 15th century to the present day. This project is a demonstration of Fondazione Roma’s constant commitment to the city, a path that has at its core the idea of caring for the commons, of openness to the community, of support for culture and education.”

“The opening of Fondazione Roma’s new museum center,” said Msgr. Salvatore Fisichella, “represents a fundamental contribution to the cultural activities of the city of Rome and the entire country. In congratulating the reopening, I am pleased that the event coincides with the initiative of the Dicastery for Evangelization in view of the Jubilee to exhibit Marc Chagall’s work the White Crucifixion. A unique event that will allow the museum center to be visited by a great multitude of people.”

Sciarra Colonna Palace: between history and art

The first nucleus of the Museo del Corso is represented by Palazzo Sciarra Colonna, an ancient noble palace, built from the second half of the 16th century by the Sciarra family, which preserves intact the 18th-century rooms designed by architect Luigi Vanvitelli. The most striking spaces of this building, such as the Domestic Library and the Cabinet of Mirrors, are rich in pictorial decorations that make it an emblematic example of how art can integrate with architecture. Because of the beauty of its portal, the palace, as early as the 17th century, was included among the “four wonders of Rome” with the Borghese harpsichord, the Farnese dado, and the Caetani-Ruspoli staircase. The palace, in its present form, is the 17th-century building designed by Flaminio Ponzo who was succeeded in 1641 by Orazio Torriani, who designed the facade.

Inside is the permanent collection of the Fondazione Roma, a heritage ranging from the Renaissance to the contemporary. Among the masterpieces on display are works by the likes of Pompeo Batoni, Nicolas Régnier, Gherardo delle Notti, Pietro da Cortona, Giovanni Paolo Panini and Caspar van Wittel, up to the great masters of the 20th century such as Giacomo Balla, Gerardo Dottori, Tano Festa, Mario Schifano, Franco Angeli and Lucio Fontana.

In addition, the museum houses a collection of coins and medals (more than 2,500 specimens), including the series of papal medals, which tell the story of past centuries, from the papacy of Martin V Colonna to that of Pope Francis.

The Historical Archives

One of the most important new features of the opening of the Museo del Corso is the presentation of the Fondazione Roma’sHistorical Archives. The archive preserves the archival fonds of two credit institutions, the Sacro Monte della Pietà and the Cassa di Risparmio di Roma. This documentary heritage, which touches on important moments in the history of Italy, is revealed to the public through the exhibition Paths of Hope. Testimonies from the Historical Archives of the Fondazione Roma. The exhibition offers the opportunity to explore a series of extraordinary documents that tell stories of solidarity and reconstruction, bringing to light the fundamental role of historic credit institutions in supporting the Roman community over the centuries.

The documents on display recount the relationship between the city of Rome and the Jubilee, a tradition of assistance intertwined with the city’s history, in a fresco that highlights the role of banking institutions in the era of reconstruction and social and economic rebirth.

Palazzo Cipolla: the heart of temporary exhibitions

The second core of the Museo del Corso comes to life in Palazzo Cipolla, an elegant 19th-century building designed in 1862 by architect Antonio Cipolla at the behest of Prince Camillo Aldobrandini. In 1874 it became the headquarters of the Cassa di Risparmio di Roma, which moved here from its original location in the 16th-century Palazzo Borghese, and today the palace (purchased by Fondazione Roma in 2010: it previously belonged to Unicredit Real Estate, which in turn acquired it in 2007 following the incorporation of Capitalia), will host the museum’s temporary exhibitions, becoming the beating heart of international exhibitions.

After the Chagall exhibition, Palazzo Cipolla will host a major exhibition dedicated to Pablo Picasso in 2025 (this will be the Roman stage of the Picasso the Foreigner exhibition currently being held in Milan, at Palazzo Reale), in collaboration with leading Italian and international museum institutions. The exhibition, which will juxtapose works from the major Milan retrospective with new Italian and international loans, will offer the public a never-before-seen view of the Spanish master’s work. There will also be an exhibition on Salvador Dali, which will further enrich the museum’s program, consolidating its international vocation.

A museum for all

The Museo del Corso also aims to be a place of inclusiveness and participation. The Fondazione Roma, which built the museum with the intention of promoting culture and art, has provided a program of free guided tours, educational workshops and special activities for schools. The museum, therefore, is not just a place for passive enjoyment of art, but a center of cultural growth, where every visitor can feel involved and participate.

This new reality fits into the mission of the Fondazione Roma, which has always worked to promote culture in all its forms, combining tradition and contemporaneity. With the Museo del Corso, Rome gains a new cultural point of reference that further enriches the capital’s museum scene and serves as a major destination for art and history lovers.

Palazzo Sciarra Colonna will open from November 30, 2024, to June 29, 2025, on Saturdays and Sundays, with free guided tours by reservation. For all info see www.museodelcorso.com. On the other hand, Palazzo Cipolla opens Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last entry 30 minutes before closing). Free admission.

Rome, Museo del Corso opens, a new cultural hub in the heart of the capital

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