The Accademia Carrara offers a journey through five centuries of Italian art history, from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, presenting over three hundred works, including paintings and sculptures. This museum, known worldwide as a treasure of Italian collecting, is entirely based on donations from generous patrons who wanted to share their heritage with the city and the community.
In 2023, the year when Bergamo, together with Brescia, is the Italian Capital of Culture, the Accademia Carrara undergoes a complete renewal, the result of a deep reflection on the museum’s future, taking into account changes in society and aiming to improve the accessibility of heritage and spaces, to make cultural offerings and services even more fascinating and dynamic.
This transformation process, guided by new ideas and energies, aims to make the Accademia Carrara contemporary, completely reconsidering both the internal and external aspects, aligning itself with the standards of the world’s most important cultural institutions.
The first major innovation is to offer an even more complete experience, thanks to the coexistence in a single location of temporary exhibitions and the permanent collection, favoring immediate enjoyment of the heritage.
On the occasion of the reopening, the Accademia Carrara inaugurates its first exhibition dedicated to Francesco Boneri, known as Cecco del Caravaggio, a pupil and mysterious model of Caravaggio, and perhaps also his lover. This is also an opportunity to visit a permanent installation inspired by the museum’s collections, but also by the city of Bergamo itself, its streets, and its nature, to immerse oneself in wonder.
THE YEAR OF CULTURE will be rich in events in the Bergamo area. Among the novelties, the extraordinary opening of the “PWC Gardens” during the summer of 2023, offering the public a 3000-square-meter green space and a new bistro accessible to both visitors and citizens, for an outdoor break in a unique environment, near the Venetian Walls, a UNESCO heritage site.
During the summer, the temporary exhibition “Peaks of Light. Naoki Ishikawa on the Orobie Alps” will be inaugurated, while in September there will be “All my light in you. History painting and melodrama”.
Furthermore, numerous projects are underway to involve the public, introducing new visiting tools such as an audio guide with the voice of Linus from Radio Deejay. We also offer a wide range of services and educational paths suitable for all ages, with particular attention to the most vulnerable people. We invite you to follow our Blog to stay updated on cultural initiatives in the Bergamo area. At the [SETTECENTO] reception, you can find tickets reserved for our guests for LA CARRARA, at a special price, including priority access, and you will have the opportunity to purchase Bergamo audio guides, developed by Tosca, the best tour guide in the area. Stay tuned for further updates.
THE PWC GARDENS Visitors to the museum, together with residents and tourists, will have the opportunity to enjoy the new green spaces called “PwC Gardens”. This outdoor area will be accessible to the public and will offer a pleasant place to relax before or after visiting the museum. It will also be an opportunity to take a break in an outdoor environment and could be included as part of a route for a pleasant walk starting from Carrara and continuing towards Città Alta or Borgo Santa Caterina. The inauguration of the Accademia Carrara is scheduled for 2023, with the opening of the interiors and the first exhibition on January 26 and the opening of the garden on June 23. During the construction works, the museum will be closed from August 29, 2022, to January 2023.
THE EXTERNAL PATH The new covered outdoor path, which will be introduced, will originate from the highest point of the structure and extend to ground level. This modification will make the entire structure fully accessible at all levels. From the last room of the section called “Long Sleeve” on the second floor, it will be easy to reach the lower floors, ensuring continuity of access and opening up new panoramic views of the landscape context in which the Carrara is located. As mentioned, the project for the new Carrara also includes the opening of a large garden. This vast green area, covering over 3,000 square meters, will be accessible to everyone for the first time, not just museum visitors. This area will be called “PwC Gardens” thanks to an agreement signed at the beginning of 2022 between the Accademia Carrara Foundation and PwC Italy. PwC Italy will support the major events and activities of Carrara throughout 2023 and, thanks to its entry as a co-founding partner in the Foundation, has marked another important moment in the museum’s governance.