Museo degli Sguardi

The Museo degli Sguardi on Rimini's Covignano hill presents ethnographic collections from Africa, Oceania and pre-Columbian America while examining how Western cultures have interpreted them.

Why it matters

The collection grew from the travels and acquisitions of merchant Delfino Dinz Rialto and later additions from missionary collections and pre-Columbian archaeology. Under the scientific direction of ethnologist Marc Augé, the museum framed its subject around encounters between cultures and the history of collecting and display.

What to notice

The holdings include African objects collected by Dinz Rialto, Oceanic material, pre-Columbian archaeology from the Ugo Canepa collection and objects from the Amazon donated by Bruno Fusconi. The museum occupies Villa Alvarado, formerly a missionary museum; a hypogeal grotto within the villa forms part of the interpretation of water-cult figurines.

Context and history

The museum opened in 1972 as the Museo delle Arti Primitive Raccolta Dinz Rialto and was initially housed in Castel Sismondo. In 2000 it moved to Villa Alvarado on Covignano hill and took the name Museo degli Sguardi, referring to Western ways of viewing other cultures. Material gathered by Franciscan missionaries became part of its collections.