If you love art, Lugano is a city with much to offer. Lugano has kept its age-old tradition intact and its great beauty. Several museums are located around the city and below is a list of a number of these:
Cantonal Art Museum – Established in 1987 the Cantonal Art Museum is located in the centre of Lugano and is an important meeting point for cultural activities in Ticino. The museum is a window into international arts and embraces, in particular, the artistic development of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The museum also houses a library and a video library available to researchers, students and the general public. Among the relevant works, those of the sculptor Vincenzo Vela, the painters Filippo Franzoni and Varlin and those of more modern artists such as Edmondo Dobrzanski and Massimo Cavalli stand out.
The Swiss foundation of Photography is present in Cantonal Art Museum.
Spazio -1 – This galley hosts a collection of about 150 contemporary art works from the 60s to the present belonging to the collectors Giancarlo and Danna Olgiati.
Spazio -1 is open from Friday to Sunday from 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., by appointment only.
Fondazione Lindenberg Villa Pia – This art Foundation houses a large collection of oils, pastels, watercolours and photos belonging to the artist Erich Lindenberg. This space was created in 2008, about two years after the death of the artist who lived between Monaco and Berlin. Mareen Koch created this structure for scientific conservation and elaboration purposes, to allow the public to rediscover the value of art’s history.
The exhibition space is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Museum of the Radio – Established on the seventieth anniversary of the birth of the Radio, this museum shows the evolution of the radio from the thirties to the present, with particular reference to the area of Ticino. The museum was conceived and created by the Radio Association, and it is located on Monte Ceneri.
Chocolate Museum – The Alprose chocolate museum allows visitors to discover the world of chocolate from the beginnings of its history to present day, and from the first production plants, to the myriad chocolate qualities currently produced. The museum houses a vast collection of interesting chocolate related objects and the attention to detail makes this museum a very interesting visit. Furthermore, its location in Switzerland, a country historically rich in the tradition of production of chocolate, makes the museum even more relevant.
