Accademia Carrara – Bergamo

At the end of the eighteenth century, Count Giacomo Carrara left a rich collection of paintings, drawings and prints, which formed the primary nucleus of the Accademia Carrara, originally housed in a building built between 1767 and 1774 designed by the architect Costantino Gallizioli. The structure originally housed also the School, wanted by the count so that the theoretical study could also be accompanied by the direct experience of the works of the art gallery.

In 1804, given the growth of the collections, it became necessary to build a new museum, which still houses the collection: the new building was designed by the architect Simone Elia.

Unlike many Italian civic museums, the large collection of the Academy grew thanks to the legacies of many amateurs who, over the years, donated their precious art collections: for this reason, the Accademia is also called “Museum of Collecting”.

The Academy preserves a rich heritage, consisting mainly of paintings ranging from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century; in addition to the art gallery, there are also sculptures, drawings, prints and objects of decorative art.