Palazzo Forti - Gallery of Modern Art

Palazzo Forti, also known as the Achille Forti Gallery of Modern Art (GAM), is the main Veronese exhibition space dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Located in an elegant Renaissance palace in the heart of the historic centre, the museum holds a permanent collection of works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and hosts important temporary exhibitions of international level that have brought to Verona masterpieces by masters such as Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Dalí.

The palace takes its name from the Forti family, who lived there for centuries, and in particular from Achille Forti (1878-1937), Veronese naturalist and collector who donated his art collection to the city. The permanent collection includes paintings, sculptures and drawings by Venetian and Italian artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, documenting the evolution of art from Romanticism to Futurism, from Impressionism to Abstractionism.

The elegant spaces of the palace, with frescoed ceilings and historic rooms, create a refined setting for the art on display.

The Renaissance palace and the Forti family

The palace was built in the 16th century for a family of the Veronese nobility, in one of the most elegant neighbourhoods of the city near the church of Sant'Anastasia. The architecture reflects the Venetian Renaissance style: facade with elegant windows framed by stone cornices, internal courtyard with loggia, reception rooms on the noble floor decorated with frescoes and coffered ceilings. The palace maintained its noble residential use for centuries.

In the 18th century, the palace passed to the Forti family, wealthy Veronese merchants who during the nineteenth century also dedicated themselves to cultural and scientific activity.

The most illustrious member of the family was Achille Forti (1878-1937), botanist, naturalist, art collector and philanthropist. Achille Forti devoted his life to the study of algae (of which he became one of the world's leading experts), to the collection of contemporary art works and to the cultural promotion of the city.

Achille Forti was a singular figure: a rigorous scientist but also passionate about art, he systematically collected works by his contemporary Italian artists, frequented the Venetian and Milanese artistic circles, and financially supported young Veronese painters. On his death in 1937, he bequeathed his art collection to the City of Verona on the condition that it be publicly displayed in the family palace, thus creating the first nucleus of the future Gallery of Modern Art.

In 1938, a year after the death of Achille Forti, the City of Verona officially inaugurated the Gallery of Modern Art in the spaces of the family palace. The Forti collection included about 200 works among paintings, sculptures, watercolours by Italian artists of the nineteenth and early twentieth century: Venetian landscapes, portraits, still lifes, genre scenes that documented the evolution of Italian art from late Romanticism to the Avant-gardes.

During the 20th century, the collection was enriched thanks to donations, bequests, purchases by the city. Works by twentieth-century Venetian artists were acquired, sculptures by Italian masters, drawings and engravings that broadened the chronological and stylistic panorama of the collection.

The gallery became a reference point for scholars of modern Venetian and Italian art, with a specialised library and a photographic archive.

During the Second World War, the works were placed in safety to protect them from the bombings. The palace suffered some damage but the works of art were saved. In the post-war period, the gallery reopened and resumed its exhibition activity.

In the 1960s-70s, Palazzo Forti also began to host temporary exhibitions of contemporary art that presented Italian and foreign artists, expanding its function beyond the simple conservation of the permanent collection.

Starting from the 2000s, Palazzo Forti has experienced a phase of renewal that has transformed it into one of the main exhibition spaces in the Veneto for modern and contemporary art. Important investments have made it possible to restore the historic spaces, install modern climate control and lighting systems, and expand the exhibition halls. The permanent collection has been redisplayed according to contemporary museographic criteria.

The palace has begun to host major temporary exhibitions of international resonance organised in collaboration with the world's most important museums.

Exhibitions dedicated to Monet, Van Gogh, Chagall, Picasso, Miró, Dalí and Warhol have brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to Verona, making the museum known to a much wider public. These blockbuster exhibitions, although criticised by some for the commercial approach, have generated economic resources that have made it possible to fund the conservation of the permanent collection.

Alongside the major exhibitions, Palazzo Forti has maintained a careful programme of research-driven exhibitions dedicated to lesser-known but significant artists, specific artistic movements, and transversal themes. The gallery organises lectures, meetings with artists, themed guided tours and educational workshops for schools that keep its educational vocation alive. The museum's bookshop offers catalogues, art monographs, reproductions and artistic gadgets.