National Museum of Arts Naïves Cesare Zavattini

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National Museum of Arts Naïves Cesare Zavattini

It was founded in 1967, after the first edition of the Prize conceived by Cesare Zavattini - a famous writer, screenwriter and journalist from Luzzara - and located in the former Augustinian Convent (Church of the SS. Annunziata, in “località Villa Superiore”).

The preserved pieces - by various Italian and foreign authors - are about 500, thus representing a unique heritage dedicated to the Naive Art in Italy. The museum is managed by the “Fondazione un Paese” (“Un Paese” Foundation) - an institution established by the Municipality of Luzzara in 2002. In addition to the museum, there is an educational workshop and it is possible to admire graphic, photographic and bio-bibliographic works, testifying to the history of Naive Art in Italy, and photographic projects dedicated to Luzzara (“Un paese”, “Un paese vent’anni dopo”, “Luzzara. Cinquant’anni e più”) by Paul Strand, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Cesare Zavattini, … In the museum have been collected, ordered and exhibited all kinds of documents, testifying to the local, national and international Naive activity: paintings, drawings, sculptures, engravings, books, newspapers, magazines, films, photographs, catalogues, magnetic tapes and slides related to this 20th-century artistic production, in the spirit of the original and primitive genuineness of the artistic language.

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convento

Church and Former Convent of the Augustinians


Also known as the church of the former hospital or church of the “Conventino”. It was built at the end of the 15th century by the will of Caterina Pico - Marquis of Luzzara Rodolfo Gonzaga’s wife. It was nearly destroyed to the foundations and reconstructed between 1764 and 1771. Fortunately, the 15th-century apse has been left intact. The sacristy hosts the remains of a funerary monument - dedicated to Luigi Gonzaga, who died in 1570 - partially destroyed by a fire in 1918. In the upper part of the monument, in the very centre, it is possible to admire the Gonzaga coat of arms - borne up by two putti and dominated by a two-headed crowned eagle. The monument stands on an architrave borne by two large statues: a Caryatid and an Atlas. From the centre, under the ledge and borne by a lion’s head, a fruit festoon passes over the Caryatids and descends towards the outer sides, up to the large corbel of the base, where two eagles are placed. The monument also housed a plaque dedicated to Luigi Gonzaga. Frescoes of historical and artistic interest have been recently discovered under the adjacent porch.

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