Museo Duilio Cambellotti

The Duilio Cambellotti Museum in Latina preserves sculptures, drawings and studies connected with the artist's interpretation of the Pontine countryside. It occupies the former Opera Balilla building designed by Oriolo Frezzotti in 1932.

Why it matters

Cambellotti's work helped shape the visual representation of the reclaimed plain and the new city of Littoria, later Latina. The collection connects that civic imagery with a much wider practice in sculpture, illustration, theatre and applied art.

What to notice

Preparatory cartoons for La Redenzione dell'Agro reveal the development of the Palazzo del Governo decorative cycle. Buffaloes, herdsmen and ploughing animals recur across drawings and sculpture. Ceramics, medals, prints and illustrated books show the variety of Cambellotti's materials. Studies for war memorials add another aspect of his public work.

Context and history

The Palazzo del Governo campaign developed during the 1930s at Frezzotti's invitation. A 1984 exhibition in the former Opera Balilla building gave renewed attention to Cambellotti's sculpture and its relationship with the Agro Pontino. Donations from the artist's heirs and municipal acquisitions helped form the collection. The dedicated museum opened in 2005, followed by a new permanent arrangement in 2021.