In Catanzaro there are museums of ancient and contemporary art, with important pieces that are connected to the history of the city. There are also important exhibitions held throughout the year, often accompanied by cultural events.
Among the various museum facilities, there is also the International Sculpture Park (also known as Marca Open), an open-air museum, one of the most important at the national level, located within the evocative Mediterranean Biodiversity Park.
HOUSE OF MEMORY
MIMMO ROTELLA
Vico dell’Onda, 7
It presents a collection of recent works and some from the '50s and '60s, 250 volumes on the greatest artists of pop art and neorealism, photos and memories of Mimmo Rotella's intense life, gathered in his mother's house. The house, restored by architect Marcello Sestito, was conceived by Rotella as a sacred place, like a church, strict and white. Inside, in addition to the works, there is also a maxi screen.
HOUSE MUSEUM
OF ANTONINO GRECO
Vincolise- Magisano - 42 km from the center
It dates back to the early 18th century and here, on 16/6/1819, Antonino Greco was born, a distinguished Calabrian patriot and jurist, as well as one of the main protagonists of the history of the Calabrian Risorgimento. The palace is spread over two floors and a basement. On the ground floor, the kitchen retains its original structure with rustic cupboards and an ancient oven used for cooking food. Upstairs there are rooms furnished with antique furniture and valuable furnishings. The House-Museum preserves various period objects, books, and various documents. Rare texts of philosophy, pedagogy, science, law, religion, and Latin dictionaries dating back to the 18th century, a copy of the first Italian Encyclopedia from 1863, and a sixteenth-century edition of Petrarch. In the Noble Chapel, built around 1850 and consecrated with a bull by Pius IX, there are gold reliquaries containing relics of Saint Anne, Saint Amelia, and Saint Thomas, an ancient silver chalice, a statue of the crucified Christ made of plaster mixed on sackcloth, another wax statue from the 1800s, and some paintings, including one by Antonio Sarnelli.
MABOS
30 km • Taverna
www.museomabos.com
The Sila Forest Art Museum is located in the Parco Hotel Granaro. It connects contemporary art and nature. The vocation of MABOS arises from the union of two concepts: respect for nature on one hand and artistic experimentation on the other. It hosts sculptures in wood, stone, and iron. The works are created by a selection of students from the Academy of Fine Arts of Catanzaro and by workshops of international artists.
MARCA
Via A. Turco, 63
www.museomarca.info
The Museum of Arts of Catanzaro is located in the heart of the city, occupying the spaces of an old institute for the deaf and a printing house. It is spread over three floors. On the ground floor there is the Provincial Art Gallery and Plaster Cast Gallery with about 120 works including paintings and sculptures, a permanent collection ranging from the 16th to the 20th century: from the splendid panel by Antonello de Saliba, to Battistello Caracciolo, Mattia Preti, Salvator Rosa, and Andrea Sacchi. There are also a very rich number of works by Andrea Cefaly, as well as plaster casts and marbles by Francesco Ierace. The basement houses the multipurpose center for contemporary culture and is also used to host temporary exhibitions and other cultural events.
MUDAS
Via Arcivescovado, 13
www.museodiocesanoczsq.it
The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, housed in the Bishop's Palace, collects monstrances, chalices, chasubles, candlesticks, sacred vestments, paintings, wooden sculptures, and marble works dating from the 18th century onwards and coming from some churches in the Catanzaro area. Among the paintings, mostly the work of southern artists, are The Pentecost by Domenico Leto, a Madonna and Child, the Coronation of the Virgin in the Glory of the Saints by Biagio di Vico, Saint Nicholas Bishop by Mattia Preti, and a Madonna delle Grazie. Among the sacred vestments: a red cope with gold foil from the 18th century, of Catanzaro manufacture. Among the silverware: a monstrance, a processional cross, a canopy of the Blessed Sacrament.
MARCH
Villa Margherita
www.catanzarodascoprire.it
The Provincial Archaeological and Numismatic Museum is located in the municipal Villa and is equipped with modern multimedia solutions. In-depth educational and audio-visual content accompany visitors in learning about the history of the area. The exhibits outline the different phases of the civilizations that have succeeded one another in the occupation of central Calabria, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, and reflect the history of 18th-19th century collecting of ancient objects. The numismatic collection is remarkable, consisting of over 8,000 coins. In the past, it attracted illustrious foreign visitors, such as François Lenormant and George Gissing. Noteworthy is the presence of bronze fragments from an equestrian statue (Roman era) depicting Manio Megonio Leone, a notable from Petelia.
MUMAC
25 km from the city center - Caminia
www.mumak.it
The Museum of Ancient Anchors is part of an artistic project focused on the protection and enhancement of the scenic beauty of one of the most evocative views of Calabria, the Bay of Caminia (Stalettì), where the Blanca Cruz village is located. A combination of art and enterprise, the sustainable use of environmental resources, enhancement and promotion of the local natural heritage, artistic experimentation aimed especially at younger generations, and the recovery and protection of maritime traditions.
ROCK MUSEUM
Via A. Turco, 28
The passion and record collection of a great expert, Piergiorgio Caruso, have resulted in a unique institution in Italy. A space that houses part of his precious collection (over 10,000 vinyl records) as well as vintage posters and magazines. The exhibition is organized in such a way as to tell the key events, figures, and main records of rock from the 1950s and 1960s. Within this venue, meetings, book presentations, and guided listening sessions of original vinyl records are held.
SILK MUSEUM
18 km - San Floro
www.nidodiseta.com
The museum preserves the relics of the sericulture history of Catanzaro, which between 1300 and 1700 was the European capital of silk. It houses period costumes, damasks, damask sacred vestments, and textile industrial archaeology, as well as contemporary raw silk artifacts, distinguished by crochet work and fabrics woven on ancient four-heddle looms. One section is dedicated to the mulberry tree, the silkworm, and natural fibers. Another area is reserved for natural dyes, with a rich assortment of silk samples colored with poppy, Tropea onion, madder root, field daisy, St. John's wort, walnut husk, etc. It is also possible to see both ancient and modern looms, on which the young people of the Nido di Seta Cooperative still weave precious artifacts.
LAMBRETTA MUSEUM
LAMBRETTA
22 km • Sellia M.na - 3296338234
www.museolambretta.it
The private Lambretta Museum is located at the “Feudo De Seta”. The museum's distinctive feature is the completeness of its collection. The founder has managed to assemble all the series produced from 1947 to the early 1970s, when Innocenti ended its activity. The exhibition also includes some post-war scooters from the brands Piaggio, Ducati, and Guzzi.
MUSMI
Mediterranean Biodiversity Park
www.musmi.it
The Historical Military Museum Brigata Catanzaro houses relics, weapons, and uniforms relating to a period ranging from the Napoleonic era to the Second World War. On various screens inside, clips from documentaries from the Archivio Luce are continuously projected. It occupies a two-story building: the ground floor is occupied by Napoleonic and Risorgimento collections, while the first floor is reserved for pieces related to the subsequent period; in this area, a highly detailed reconstruction of a trench can also be visited.
MUSEUM
OF THE LOCAL POLICE
Via A. Daniele
Catanzaro is the first Italian city to create this kind of museum. Historic uniforms, vintage motorcycles, and a substantial photographic archive bear witness to the long history, from 1872 to today, of the municipal police of the regional capital. The opening of the museum was made possible thanks to the commitment of the Fera family, retired officer Aldo and his wife, who collected the material on display over the years.
PARK
OF SCULPTURE
Park of Mediterranean Biodiversity
The International Sculpture Park is the first in Southern Italy where all the artists who take part in Intersezioni are permanently present with emblematic works that have become part of the city's public heritage. It is located within the Park of Biodiversity, adjacent to the urban center of the city of Catanzaro. Among the works on display: Man and Ballerina by S. Balkenhol, Cast Glances by T. Cragg, Concrete Mixer by W. Delvoye, The Man Who Measures the Clouds by J. Fabre, Seven Times by A. Gormley, etc.
SEA MUSEUM
13 km - Lido district - 0961746514
“Grimaldi Pacioli” Institute
There is the fishing section, with anchors, fish traps, nets, etc.; historical documents, photographic exhibitions; the section on the seabeds of the coast, with its Beach rock, the section on the birdlife of the Corace, and the multimedia section. The “industrial village” section with important artifacts from the historic Ledoga plant, better known as Tonnina, the tannin factory extracted from chestnut wood used for tanning leather.
F.A.T.A.
Loc. Carbonello -Taverna - 0961022964 www.silasciencepark.com
The Sila Science Park is located in the Sila Piccola area of Catanzaro, near Lake Passante in the locality of Carbonello, within the territory of the Municipality of Taverna, inside a natural area of over 80 hectares. It is focused on the theme of the four natural elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, which is why it was named “F.A.T.A.”. An innovative space for scientific and environmental culture, it is mainly aimed at schools and families, as well as international tourism. It consists of a covered structure, the “Science Center”, with an area of over 2,500 square meters spread over two floors, and an outdoor experiential park, which hosts other exhibition areas and various attractions. Within the Park, there is a naturalistic area with a pond for sport fishing, an area dedicated to the educational farm for pet therapy and hippotherapy, a sports field, as well as trails and nature paths dedicated to cycle tourism and hiking.