In 1937 Achille Forti, a distinguished botanist and the last descendant of the family, left the palace as an inheritance to the Municipality of Verona which, according to the testamentary wishes, converted it into a modern art museum. With this mission, the palace remained open for just over a year. Following the war events, it was first used as the seat of the Academy of Fine Arts and Artistic High School, then as offices for the municipal administration until around 1950.
In 1966, some restoration works were undertaken under the supervision of Prof. Licisco Magagnato, which brought to light the medieval structures. Meanwhile, but only for a few months, the museum was reopened, but it was definitively closed afterward (except for some solitary exhibitions) until the 1980s.
In 1982, the municipal administration decided on the permanent reopening of the Gallery, which was inaugurated on March 14 of the same year. Since then, the museum has organized numerous important exhibitions dedicated to key figures and movements of the national and international art scene: including Van Gogh, Munch, Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, Picasso, Modigliani, de Chirico, Magritte, Klee, Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall up to contemporary artist Marc Quinn.
