Museums

Someone has defined Trentino as a large museum, rich in works of art and in stimuli able to attract the attention of the most distracted tourist. Try it to believe. Just cross the threshold of the Castello del Buonconsiglio and wander through its splendid halls to be transported back to the time of the Bishop Princes. And this is just an example. There are dozens of open-air and indoor museums disseminated throughout Trentino.
Hosted in prestigious headquarters, these museums are set up according to state of the art criteria and use sophisticated tools for enhancing the viewing and comprehension of the exhibits. They are so many "windows" one can peek through to understand the history of this community, its peculiarities and most intimate secrets. Next to the "great museums" there is a myriad of small but equally significant institutions that offer unedited aspects of Trentino. We refer here to the original museums of pianos, of Alpinism, of copper tools, of mountaineering, just to mention a few. Then there are the open-air museums, namely the parks and nature reserves, the archaeological parks with their visitors’ information centres. Each municipality, even the smallest, cherishes treasures of not great material value perhaps, but certainly of great human and historical interest. The local population is always proud of sharing with visitors the joy of admiring them and of understanding them.

History Museum in Trento

One of the reasons there can be a relationship with the past is that there are museums, special places for conserving, transmitting and also creating individual and collective memory. A museum is the result of a documentary programme involving one or more frameworks for interpretation on which the collection and selection of sources are based.
This Museum on the history of Trentino from the end of the 18th century to the post-war period reflects various viewpoints related to specific historiographic concepts and historical periods.
After World War I, reviving the idea launched by Cesare Battisti, the Legione Trentina and the Trento Municipality promoted the setting up of the Risorgimento Museum. Opened in 1923 in the rooms of the Castelvecchio, the type of documentary material collected and exhibited in the Museum reflected the strong patriotism which linked Trentino with Italy, after the annexation following Austria's defeat at the end of World War I.
After World War II, this documentation was increased with material related to the recent war and the Resistance; the Museum was re-named the Museum for the Risorgimento and the Struggle for Freedom.
In 1985, the Museum was transferred from the Castelvecchio to its present location at the former Marangonerie, and on this occasion the exhibits were revised to focus on theme topics, covering aspects of economic and social history which had not appeared previously.
In 1995, the Museum was re-named the Museo Storico in Trento, as this would better represent the regional and historical aspects, and the memory not just of the major figures but also of ordinary people. The Museum was re-arranged in accordance with the latest historiographic criteria, utilising new documents such as letters and diaries.