The Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti is the only museum in Italy established thanks to a private donation, made by Count Giacomo Carrara, who decided to leave his splendid collection to the city of Bergamo at the end of the 18th century. An academic and aficionado of art, Carrara founded a painting school for the young people in the area, and ordered the construction of a building to house his collection, previously scattered throughout his various homes. Upon his death, in 1796, he left his entire estate to the Accademia for the gallery to continue its activities.
The building that houses the collection was designed by the architect Simone Elia. It was completed in 1810 and also comprised the premises of Carrara’s Painting School. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new wing was added in the garden behind the building to create more space for the school.
Over the years, the collection has grown, and now comprises more than 1,800 paintings, thanks to almost 200 donations, including those by Count Guglielmo Lochis, one by Giovanni Morelli and, more recently, by Federico Zeri.
After being run by a foundation for over a century, since 1958 the Accademia has been in the hands of the Municipal Council of Bergamo, and is now part of the city’s civic museums network.
Far off the beaten track of mass tourism, the Accademia Carrara is a peaceful, timeless oasis. The recent restoration work, carried out over seven years from 2008 to 2015, has given the building an elegant new look and created an exhibition route that enhances each work in the collection by creating a smooth link with the others, with the setting and with the gallery’s visitors.
The works are arranged in a clear, chronological order, with each room along the way dedicated to an artistic phase or theme. I’ll be mentioning a few rooms in particular to help you appreciate some of the finest paintings.
An interesting fact: during the recent renovation work, the old frames were brought out of the museum storerooms, cleaned, restored and returned to their original paintings.
