A Castle with many centuries of history, a territory and a community, a collection of archaeological finds, an architectural restoration project and a vast heritage of knowledge. These are the underlying ingredients of the Museum of the History of Formigine Castle designed by Studio Azzurro, a leading-edge arts firm, with expert direction from Ca’ Foscari University, Venice.
The Castle’s Historic and Archaeological Museum marks another stage of the investigation of the expressive and artistic potential of the latest technologies on which Studio Azzurro has been engaged for almost thirty years.
In its work, Studio Azzurro seeks to evoke what historian Franco Cardini has described as “the kindly ghost of good historical storytelling”, which provides information in an enjoyable way and creates a direct link between academic research on the one hand and people’s tastes and interests on the other.
Under Studio Azzurro’s stylistic approach, the direct link between knowledge and visitors’ expectations is produced using the fluid language of multimedia technology, used naturally and never showily, to add an imaginative dimension to cold data.
A pot is reconnected to the hands that shaped, used and broke it. Rooms reveal the faces and actions of the people who have passed through them. The bare earth rediscovers the Medieval rite of burial.
The result is a great fresco which cleverly brings together architectural space, objects, intangible contents and visitors in an experience as unique as an artwork.
Conceived in this way, the museum is a truly extraordinary place, where a community’s cultural heritage, conserved and interpreted, is handed down across the generations, protecting it from the forgetfulness of places and people and rapid changes in space and time.
Museo del Castello di Formigine
Piazza Calcagnini, 1 41043 Formigine (MO), Italy
Tel.: +39 059 416145 (in museum opening hours)
Tel.: +39 059 416277 (Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 13:00)
Tel.: +39 351 0498054
castello@comune.formigine.mo.it
For further information, contact:
IAT – Ufficio di Informazione e Accoglienza Turistica IAT Terra di Motori
Tel.: +39 0536 073036
iat@maranello.it
PIT – Tourist Information Point
Piazza Calcagnini, 1 in the reception of the Formigine Castle Museum
castello@comune.formigine.mo.it
Full contact numbers
Tel. +39 059 416145 (Castle Museum, during opening hours)
Tel. +39 059 416277 (Culture Service, Tuesday and Thursday, 09:30-12:30)
Tel +39 3510498054 Tuesday and Thursday, 09:00-13:00
OPENING TIMES:
January, February and November
Sunday, 10:00-13:00
From 1 March through 14 June
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-13:00/15:00-19:00
From 15 June to 25 August
Sunday, 10:00-13:00/17:00-20:00
From 26 August to 31 October and in December
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-13:00/15:00-19:00
CLOSED:
Morning of Easter Sunday
From 11 to 18 August
24 August (Feast day of Patron Saint, St Bartholomew)
25 December
SPECIAL OPENING TIMES
Easter Sunday, 25 April, 1 May, 2 June 15:00-19:00
Easter Monday and 8 December 10:00-13:00/15:00-19:00
Every Wednesday in July 19:00-23:30
10 August (St Lawrence Fair) 17:00-23:30
15 August 10:00-13:00/17:00-20:00 (Feast of the Assumption)
21-22-23 August (St Bartholomew Festival) 20:00-23:30 (last entry to Castle and Grounds 23.15)
Guided tours on weekdays and outside normal opening times can be booked by telephone with at least 7 days’ notice. Outside normal opening times, a supplement of € 25.00 on top of ticket prices is charged for groups of fewer than 15 people.
Full price: 4.00 Euro.
Supplement: 35.00 Euro (hourly rate including VAT) for tours in non-standard languages (e.g. Chinese, Russian, Japanese, etc.); no additional charge for tours in French and English.
Supplement: 25.00 Euro for groups of fewer than 15 people for tours booked outside normal opening days/hours
Supplement: 2 Euro for audio guide rental on free entry days
REDUCTIONS
Reduced price ticket: 3.00 Euro for members of Italia Nostra, Touring Club and other heritage associations, visitors below 18 and over 65 years of age, groups of at least 30 people, Carta Doc holders, school parties from outside the area.
Reduced price ticket: 2.00 Euro for FAI members and school parties from the Formigine municipal area.
Reduced price ticket: 1.00 Euro for kindergarten parties from the Formigine municipal area.
Free entry: Parties from crèches from the Formigine municipal area, tourist guides and interpreters (when visiting in a professional capacity), group leaders (max two per group), Ministry for Cultural Activities and Heritage staff, journalists (when visiting in a professional capacity), disabled visitors and carers, university students (formally matriculated), children up to 12 (for family groups), residents of the Formigine municipal area accompanying non-resident visitors, 1st Sunday of each month on national museum free entry day.
From 20 April to 5 May, from 15 June to 15 October and from 1 December to 6 January there is no charge for entrance to the Museum, except for groups visiting with bookings (booking is compulsory for groups).
The Castle Museum organises guided tours, special visit experiences and creative workshops for schools of all kinds and levels (Infant/Toddler Centres and Preschools, Primary, Middle and High Schools, Universities and Summer Play Schemes).
For further information and the educational visit brochure, please email: castello@comune.formigine.mo.it
During the public health emergency, visitors to Formigine Castle Museum are required to comply with the specific regulations enforced by the protocol to prevent the spread of infection. These regulations may be subject to changes and/or variations depending on case number trends, in accordance with central and regional government regulations. They should therefore be checked prior to your visit at https://www.visitformigine.it/vivere-il-castello/