About us

The Civica Pinacoteca il Guercino is the main cultural container in the City of Cento, which was closed for more than a decade due to the earthquake that struck the Emilia region in 2012.

It houses the greatest concentration in the world of masterpieces by our illustrious fellow citizen Giovanni Francesco Barbieri known as "il Guercino" and his workshop. This peculiarity offers visitors the opportunity to perceive in one place the stylistic evolution not only of the master, but also of his pupils and collaborators. A museum founded in 1839 to house, precisely, a first nucleus of Guercino's canvases recovered after Napoleonic requisitions, with its headquarters in the Palazzo del Monte di Pietà designed in 1794 by the Bolognese architect Giovanni Callegari.

The Pinacoteca, in addition to the exhibition itinerary within it, features:

• a didactic workshop on the ground floor that houses the permanent painting work entitled "Ritual" by Giacomo Modolo, the outcome of his residency in the municipality as part of "Perspectives", a project of artist residencies in Emilia-Romagna curated by Adiacenze and realized with the support of the Region in the municipalities of Cento, Calderara di Reno, Spilamberto and Vernasca (Vigoleno).
• the headquarters of the Centro Studi Internazionale il Guercino and its specialized library on the third floor.
• the repository of the artworks on the third floor.