Museo della Città Luigi Tonini

Rimini's Museo della Città Luigi Tonini traces the city's history from prehistoric finds to twentieth-century art. Housed in the former Jesuit college, its collections bring together archaeological discoveries, works from churches and civic buildings, and paintings by artists including Giovanni Bellini, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Guido Cagnacci and René Gruau.

Why it matters

The museum presents a history of Rimini spanning a million years. Its collection includes archaeological material from the city and its surroundings, paintings, sculpture, prints, manuscripts and objects from civic and religious institutions. The institution grew from the Galleria Archeologica, founded by historian and librarian Luigi Tonini in 1871–1872; the museum has borne his name since 2015.

The former Jesuit college has its own layered history. It served as the city's civic hospital from 1797 to 1977 before becoming a cultural institution. Today the museum and the municipal historical archive occupy the building.

What to notice

The archaeological collections trace the Roman colony of Ariminum through mosaics and objects from the city's houses, including finds from the Domus del Chirurgo. These include a third-century surgeon's instrument set with pharmacy vessels and a rare glass pinax. An outdoor lapidarium displays Roman inscriptions dating from the first century BCE to the fifth century CE.

The pinacoteca includes works from the fourteenth-century Scuola Riminese, among them a Crucifix by Giovanni da Rimini and a Coronation of the Virgin triptych by Giuliano da Rimini. The Malatesta-era collection includes Giovanni Bellini's Pietà, Domenico Ghirlandaio's altarpiece of San Vincenzo Ferreri, and sculpture and medals by Agostino di Duccio and Matteo de' Pasti. Later rooms include paintings by Cagnacci, Guercino, Simone Cantarini and Filippo De Pisis, alongside fashion illustrations by René Gruau.

Context and history

Rimini's municipal collections developed through archaeological work and the transfer of artworks from churches and public buildings. The Galleria Archeologica founded by Tonini in 1871–1872 gave the collection an organised civic form. The museum continues that work in the former Jesuit college, preserving material from the city's Roman past, medieval art and modern cultural life.