The Museum location:
Palazzo di Riserva
Museo Glauco Lombardi is located in a part of the great complex called Palazzo di Riserva, known to have been the property of the Dukes of Parma since the 17th century. At that time the building housed a number of Court apartments, guest lodgings and a theatre built by Stefano Lolli in 1687. In 1764 Duke Philip of Bourbon and his powerful Minister Guillaume Du Tillot decided to turn the rooms now occupied by the Museum into an apartment for leisure activities and entertainment for the aristocracy.
The French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot designed the rigorous neoclassical appearance that still characterizes the building in spite of significant changes undergone by the entire edifice, such as the demolition of the theatre, of the great stairway at the entrance, and the transformation of the upper floor into government offices after the Italian Unification.
In the mid 19th century Duke Charles III of Bourbon Parma (1849-1854) wanted this area to be converted into his private residence. The work was entrusted to the architect Gazola, who changed the size and arrangement of some rooms which are now part of the Museum.
Nowadays the Palazzo di Riserva is a national state property which also houses the offices of the Postal Service, the local Carabinieri Command for Forest Protection, a Literary and Conversation Circle and several shops. During the restoration work which took place in the late 1990’s, some very interesting remains pertaining to a Roman domus were uncovered, as well as fragments of late Gothic pictorial art: such discoveries prove the ancient settlement of this area, as well as its continuous occupation as a dwelling and transformation over the centuries.
