Museo Civico Luigi Bailo

The Luigi Bailo Civic Museum in Treviso is devoted to modern art, with particular strength in the city's artistic life from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Its collection grew from the work of Abbot Luigi Bailo, the museum's founder and first director.

Why it matters

The museum's holdings document the emergence of modern art in Treviso and its connections with Venice. Sculptor Arturo Martini, born in Treviso in 1889, and painters associated with the Ca' Pesaro circle, especially Gino Rossi, are central to the collection. The civic museum describes this as its Casa dell'Arte del Novecento; the twentieth-century collection contains about 340 works.

What to notice

Arturo Martini's works trace his development from early studies and ceramics to a distinct sculptural language; the collection includes the pair Adamo ed Eva. The Ca' Pesaro rooms bring together works by Gino Rossi, Ottone Zorlini, Guido Cacciapuoti, Aldo Voltolin and Nino Springolo. Another section documents eleven exhibitions held in Treviso between 1920 and 1942, which introduced Impressionist and Expressionist art to local audiences. Two cloisters survive from the former convent, while the restored entrance provides a contemporary counterpoint to the older complex.

Context and history

The building began as a medieval convent. In the sixteenth century it was re-established by the Gesuati of San Girolamo and transferred in 1681 to the Discalced Carmelites. The museum's collection developed from Bailo's acquisitions and was first presented as the Museo Trivigiano. After wartime damage, the museum reopened in 1952 and expanded in 1959 to house the municipal modern-art collection. Following closure for major renovation, the city reopened the museum on 29 October 2015.