A 360 journey into the fascinating world of photography, all inside an ancient 13th-century convent!
Don’t miss the scientific section Phenomenal Visions, the museum’s hub dedicated to theSestini Photographic Archive and its holdings, and, finally, the exhibition route that now houses the exhibition ‘Bergamo in the Twentieth Century.
Stories from the Sestini Photographic Archive’ , with more than 100 shots from the Museum’s holdings.
1,200,000 images.
A priceless archive that could not remain locked in a safe, available only to insiders.
The west wing of the convent comes to life
All this heritage is now returned to the city thanks to the munificent gesture of Siad Fondazione Sestini, which, together with the City of Bergamo and the Bergamo Museum of Histories, has created in the west wing of the Convent of St. Francis a state-of-the-art center for the preservation and cataloging of historical photography, a multipurpose space for study, protection and enhancement: the Sestini Museum of Photography.
500 SQM to walk through for a 360-degree experience in contact with the world of photography.
- the exhibition itinerary: a journey back in time to learn about the birth of this wonderful discovery, the history of Bergamo photographers and their production
- the cataloging and consultation spaces where a team of 7 professionals work every day to sort and catalog the digitized photo collections
- the archive rooms, the technological heart of the new hub, intended for the proper preservation of original material
- the workshop space reserved for educational activities, workshops, initiatives and events.
A museum open to all
A museum open to all, a living museum, where contemplation becomes an activity of discovery and knowledge, of participation and confrontation, in constant dialogue with photography, historical and poetic testimony to the human condition of other places and other times.
ONE PROTAGONIST, photography.
A universe of daguerreotypes, prints, film and plate negatives, original photographic instruments and equipment, and a specialized library with a catalog of more than 600 volumes, rare and modern.
Unique pieces that make this museum an excellence in the Italian panorama.
Also online!
1 ONLINE PORTAL. Accessible at the museum or directly from home, it will allow you to be able to have images from the archives always just a click away.
The Sestini Photography Museum involves thewest wing of the ground floor of the Convent of St. Francis and occupies a total area of 500 square meters.
The structure: glass and light
A first large room whose volume is amplified by the imposing glass wall that separates the exhibition space from the cataloguing rooms.
This striking solution makes the space enjoyable and walkable, allows visitors to see professional archivists in their daily work of studying, rearranging and inventorying images, to get in touch with the ‘behind the scenes’ of the Museum and with the extraordinary research work that characterizes its activities.
Another distinctive element is the dominant white chosen for the rooms and furnishings, which enlivens the brightness of the space and enhances the lighting solutions.
A restoration that keeps alive the dialogue between ancient and modern thanks to the windows that remain along the corridor and that allow us to enjoy the medieval architecture of the convent of San Francesco.
Not only that, the opening of this new museum venue returns a new and evocative view of Città alta, an unprecedented panorama to enjoy and photograph!
Funds
But what funds make up the holdings of the Sestini Museum of Photography?
The Museo del Risorgimento fund, the Domenico Lucchetti Collection, the Fausto Asperti fund, and the Pesenti studio fund, as well as: the Gianfermo Musitelli fund, the Lorandi Travel Agency fund, the Nicola Burgarella fund, the Tito Terzi fund, and the three latest acquisitions, which are the Pepi Merisio fund, the Goglio fund, and the Alfonso Modonesi fund.
All are described in this link.