Opened in 1932 in Palazzo Olginati, the museum was created to commemorate Giuseppe Garibaldi’s 1866 stay in Como and holds Risorgimento memorabilia alongside a section of ethnography and Lariano picture gallery.
Palazzo Olginati, a noble residence dating to the 15th century and later remodelled by the Della Torre Rezzonico family in the 17th century and by the Olginati family in 1853, was donated to the Comune of Como by Carlotta Olginati on condition that a museum dedicated to Garibaldi be established there. The city’s first collection of Risorgimento memorabilia dates to 1884; moved to Palazzo Olginati in 1932, it was later enriched with items from the local nobility of the 18th-19th centuries, with the current display completed in 1963.
Collection
The museum is organised into two main sections: one on the Risorgimento and contemporary history, documenting the Five Days of Como (March 1848), the Battle of San Fermo, the Expedition of the Thousand and the two World Wars — including an original copy of Giacomo Leopardi’s “Appressamento della morte” (1816) — and one on ethnography and painting, with textiles, clothing, furnishings and objects of Lariano culture from the 17th to the 20th century, an 18th-century Neapolitan nativity scene and a collection of lace and embroidery (16th-19th century).
Practical information
- The exhibition rooms are currently closed to the public for maintenance work (per the official website of the Comune di Como).
- Part of the Como Civic Museums network together with Tempio Voltiano, the Museo Archeologico Paolo Giovio and the Pinacoteca civica, with combined-ticket options.
- Address: Piazza Medaglie d’Oro 6, Como. For reopening updates, see the official Comune di Como website (Musei Civici).