Museum of the Carnival Mask of Castelnovo di Sotto, Reggio Emilia

Il “Carnival Mask Museum” is a museum primarily educational in nature that documents the tradition of the Carnival of Castelnovo di Sotto, Reggio Emilia, through the historical evolution of the carnival mask and the necessary operations for its creation, processing, and production.

The main core of the museum is represented by the exceptional collection of masks, fabric models, plaster models, molds, and materials for printing purchased by the Municipal Administration in 1997, to which was added the collection of masks donated to the Municipality by the collector Eugenio Gabrielli in 2002.

It is a unique heritage consisting of 222 pieces, exhibited in an order that reflects the various stages of processing and the different techniques developed by the Guatteri masters.

Some rooms of the museum are dedicated to this family, originally from Reggio Emilia, which reconstruct the history of the Mask Factory, founded in 1810 by Prospero Guatteri and active until 1933, and the productive activity of these artists, allowing the recovery and enhancement of the artisanal tradition of this territory. The museum layout is accompanied by illustrative panels that guide visitors through the history and meaning of the ancient Carnival festival.

Information about the Carnival Mask Museum. Documentation and Research Center

Piazza IV Novembre, 1, – 42024 Castelnovo di Sotto (Reggio nell’Emilia)
phone: 0522485736
email: cultura@comune.castelnovo-di-sotto.re.it