Founded in 1901 by Saint Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, the Museo d'Arte Cinese ed Etnografico is recognized as one of the premier collections of Chinese art and culture in Europe. Originally created to foster cross-cultural understanding and prepare missionaries for life in Asia, the museum underwent a major architectural renovation in 2012, transforming its historic holdings into a contemporary, light-filled exhibition space.
Founded in 1901 by Saint Guido Maria Conforti, founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, the Museo d'Arte Cinese ed Etnografico is recognized as one of the premier collections of Chinese art and culture in Europe. Originally created to foster cross-cultural understanding and prepare missionaries for life in Asia, the museum underwent a major architectural renovation in 2012, transforming its historic holdings into a contemporary, light-filled exhibition space.
Selected Exhibitions
Permanent displays focus heavily on Chinese civilization from antiquity through the Qing Dynasty, featuring ancient ritual bronzes (Shang and Zhou dynasties), Han and Tang funerary pottery figures, jade carvings, Buddhist stone and bronze sculpture, porcelain, and rare embroidery and jewelry from China's southwestern ethnic minority peoples (such as the Miao and Dong), alongside ethnographic galleries dedicated to African and Amazonian indigenous cultures.
Permanent displays focus heavily on Chinese civilization from antiquity through the Qing Dynasty, featuring ancient ritual bronzes (Shang and Zhou dynasties), Han and Tang funerary pottery figures, jade carvings, Buddhist stone and bronze sculpture, porcelain, and rare embroidery and jewelry from China's southwestern ethnic minority peoples (such as the Miao and Dong), alongside ethnographic galleries dedicated to African and Amazonian indigenous cultures.
