“Today is my husband’s birthday.” Speak in the present (even if he’s gone) Maria Grazia Zanasi explaining the reasons that pushed her and her husband Gian Pietro Lagostina, to the donation of nearly a hundred works of art to Omegna. «Ours was a choice of heart – he explains -. Often my husband remembered how this city had given him so much and felt the duty to give something back. If he had been able to buy paintings that he liked so much, it was because the Omegnesi had given him this possibility. He also thought about the opportunity for the students of the artistic high school to have these masterpieces at their disposal ».
A significant gesture that of the Lagostina-Zanasi couple. The paintings they gave cover a time span of four centuries. The collection includes works by Massimo Campigli, Antonio Calderara, Giulio Carpioni, Maurice Utrillo, Felice Casorati, Renato Guttuso and Mario Tozzi representing different eras and different styles.
The project of the museum housed in the former villa Ferrari (commonly called villa Liberty) is due to the architects Andrea Baldioli and Gian Franco Ciuffo, following a series of indications from Roberto Ripamonti of the I Lamberti association. «The museum is organized on two floors for about 200 square meters – explain the two architects -. On the ground floor there will be a small art library and on the two levels we want to place the paintings following a thematic criterion: sacred art, water and urban landscapes, the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and a room dedicated to contemporary authors. All this makes it possible above all to enhance the works and make them easy to read ». The building will also have an elevator to allow disabled access. “I would like to underline that what will be created will not be an art gallery, but a living museum that integrates with the territory – adds Ripamonti -. It is a research laboratory. Let’s not forget that many of the paintings on display would not look out of place in the most important museums in the world ».
A clear concept for the councilor for culture Sara Rubinelli: «This is the second stage, after the Rodari museum, of a path that will project Omegna in the national artistic itineraries – says the councilor -. All this with tourist and economic repercussions ». The costs for the construction of the Lagostina-Zanasi picture gallery have also been defined: up to now the project has been paid for by the family of patrons with the support of the Lamberti family. For the preparation and commissioning of the museum 150 thousand euros are needed. Sum that the mayor Paolo Marchioni wants to recover through some announcement or with loans to which the Municipality plans to access.