Pinacoteca - Museo d'Arte Medievale e Moderna

Padua's civic Picture Gallery occupies the former Eremitani convent and presents Venetian and Veneto art from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.

Why it matters

The collection grew from works removed from religious institutions and placed in civic custody. Padua established its Pinacoteca Civica in 1857, and the Emo Capodilista bequest of 1864 added more than 540 paintings, including works attributed to Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione and Titian. Since the 1980s the gallery has occupied the restored Eremitani convent, in rooms redesigned by Franco Albini.

What to notice

The collection ranges from medieval sculpture and works associated with Giotto's circle to paintings by Romanino, Veronese, Tintoretto, Bassano, Piazzetta and Tiepolo. It also includes sculpture, ivories, tapestries, bronze plaquettes by Andrea Riccio and Tiziano Aspetti, and a lapidary of inscribed stone. Works by the Paduan painter Guariento are among the collection's early highlights.

Context and history

The civic museums' holdings grew from works associated with public buildings and from the suppression of convents. The Pinacoteca Civica was formed in 1857; the 1864 Emo Capodilista bequest gave the collection a major group of Renaissance works. The former Eremitani convent has housed the gallery since the 1980s. The gallery is part of the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, alongside the archaeological museum.