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The Leone Museum is named after the notary Camillo Leone, who made a big donation to this facility to house a collection of objects about the history of the city of Vercelli, from prehistoric times to the modern age.

Opened to the public in 1910, the museum is housed into two connected ancient buildings: the XVI century Casa Alciati, a beautiful noble residence, and the baroque Palazzo Langosco.

Casa Alciati features several rooms decorated with contemporary frescoes; many “grotesque” friezes and mythological subjects highlight the influence of Roman-style painting of that time.
Palazzo Langosco, on the other hand, has some rooms decorated with XVIII century paintings and stuccoes.

The Museum houses important archaeological collections and several examples of decorative and applied art from different locations in Europe, exhibited in the thirteen rooms on the ground floor. The most valuable piece is probably the Limousin casket which dates back to the early XIII century.
There are also a bilingual Latin Celtic stele, among the Roman-era relics, and the Lex Tappula, a bronze fragment engraved with goliardic text dating back to the Roman Empire.

Not to mention the sculptures that decorated the pulpit of Vercelli Cathedral, the fragments of the XII century floor mosaic of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the tuff sarcophagus engraved with the Virgin Mary, baby Jesus and some Saints.

The library houses some volumes of the XVI century made printed in Trino and Vercelli.
The elegant collection of XVIII century garments is also worth a visit.

The Museum is part of the “Abbonamenti Musei Torino Piemonte” (“Turin Piedmont Museum Subscriptions”) circuit, promoted by the Piedmont Region.

The Library can be accessed on request; please contact: +39 0161 253204

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)