Experimental Museum of Contemporary Art “Mu.Sp.Ac.”, L’Aquila

The Experimental Museum of Contemporary Art (MU.SP.A.C) opened to the public in 1993 thanks to the Cultural Association “Quarto di Santa Giusta” which established the first core of the collection inside the former monastery of S. Maria dei Raccomandati. The Association, founded by Enrico Sconci in 1984, is interested in the 20th-century artistic avant-gardes and is characterized from the start by its multidisciplinary approach, focused on the anthropological aspects of art. In 1998, when work began in the monastery premises to host the Archaeological Museum of Santa Maria dei Raccomandati, MuSpAC moved to the Baroncelli Cappa palace. The 2009 earthquake devastated L’Aquila and the museum’s life, which managed to relocate to a new venue thanks to the commitment of Abruzzo’s public and private entities that contributed in 2011 to building a new location on Via Ficara, in the Piazza D’Arti complex.

The museum houses a permanent collection including works by internationally renowned artists such as Joseph Beuys, Mario Ceroli, Primo Conti, Christo, Gino De Dominicis, Jannis Kounellis, Eliseo Mattiacci, Fabio Mauri, Mario Merz, Giulio Paolini, Vettor Pisani, Michelangelo Pistoletto.

To these were added works donated after the 2009 earthquake by artists of the caliber of Gea Casolaro, Franco Mulas, and Tobia Ravà.