Museo del Novecento e del Contemporaneo di Palazzo Fabroni

Palazzo Fabroni in Pistoia houses the city's modern and contemporary art collection, including works by Claudio Parmiggiani and artists associated with the local twentieth-century art scene.

Why it matters

The Museo del Novecento e del Contemporaneo holds the permanent modern and contemporary collection of the Comune di Pistoia. The collection brings together local artistic history and wider movements in Italian art. Its main hall contains Claudio Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra. Dedicated rooms present work by Mario Nigro, Fernando Melani, Gualtiero Nativi and Agenore Fabbri, whose painting and sculpture relate to abstraction, Art Informel and later developments including Arte Povera, Conceptual and Minimal art and visual poetry. Artist photographs and the Mario Carnicelli archive extend the collection's documentary record.

What to notice

The collection traces Pistoia's art scene from the late 1920s through the late 1960s, including Melani's studio, Nativi's experiments with abstraction, Fabbri's material-based sculpture and Nigro's sign-based painting. Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra links local memory with broader contemporary practice. Photographs by Aurelio Amendola and the Mario Carnicelli archive preserve portraits and documentary images of artists and society. Carnicelli's archive includes the series I'm Sorry, America!, American Voyage and Psicologia della folla.

Context and history

Palazzo Fabroni became a home for the municipal modern-art collection as it developed beyond its earlier locations. The collection reflects the concentration of twentieth-century artists associated with Pistoia and forms part of the city's wider record of modern art. The building's garden court also connects the historic palace with contemporary artistic work.