The Museum of Musical Instruments was established in 1957 with the union of 270 instruments from the Gallini collection combined with other sets already owned by the municipal administration, totaling 358 instruments.
The collection was housed in Palazzo Morando on Via Sant’Andrea, which since 1959 had been the seat of the Museum of Milan. In 1961, a further acquisition from Gallini of 150 instruments, mostly string and keyboard, led to the transfer from Palazzo Morando to the Sforza Castle.
The works were distributed between the Sala della Balla, mainly dedicated to keyboards, and the adjoining room, where string, plucked, wind, and ethnographic instruments were placed.
Two significant moments marked the enhancement of the collection: the publication in 1997 of the scientific catalog of all instruments except the ethnographic ones, and the arrival in 2000 of a donation by the De Musica Foundation named after Antonio Monzino, which brought about eighty instruments collected by the family of Milanese luthiers from the 17th to the 20th century to the museum.
The donation strengthened the assortment of Milanese instruments; two rooms of the museum have been reserved for this collection, one of which has been dedicated to musical education.
Information about the Museum of Musical Instruments
Piazza Castello, ?
20121 Milan (Milan)
02 88463700
c.museiartistici@comune.milano.it
https://www.milanocastello.it
Source: MIBACT
