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| Museo della Figurina | |
|---|---|
| Name | Museo della Figurina |
| Established | 2006 |
| Location | Corso Roma 121, Modena, Italy |
| Type | Cultural museum |
Museo della Figurina Museo della Figurina is a specialized museum in Modena, Italy, devoted to the collection, study, and display of printed collectible cards and stickers. The institution presents the cultural, artistic, and social dimensions of pictorial ephemera through archival collections, temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and collaboration with European and international cultural institutions. Its remit connects popular visual culture with collecting practices linked to publishing houses, toy manufacturers, and sporting institutions.
The museum opened in 2006 following the initiative of local collectors, municipal authorities, and publishing houses who consolidated private holdings into a public collection. Founders and early supporters included collectors associated with the publishing houses Panini Group, Edizioni San Paolo, and archives linked to the Comune di Modena cultural offices. The formative years involved partnerships with the European Museum Forum, exchanges with the British Museum and the Musée de l'Illustration Jeunesse networks, and loans from institutions such as the Biblioteca Estense and private collections assembled by names associated with Italian publishing. Over time the museum hosted retrospectives co-curated with curators connected to the Fondazione Modena Arti Visive and collaborated on cataloguing projects with the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione.
The museum's core holdings consist of tens of thousands of printed cards, gum cards, stickers, trade cards, cigar bands, and related printed ephemera from the late 19th century to the present. Significant series in the collection derive from the archives of Panini Group, historic Italian publishers such as Edizioni Fratelli Fabbri and Sergio Bonelli Editore, and international producers represented by holdings linked to Topps, Waddingtons, and RCS MediaGroup. The collection documents themes ranging from sports iconography tied to Serie A, FIFA World Cup, and UEFA European Championship tournaments, to film and television tie-ins involving franchises like Star Wars, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Walt Disney; to advertising series produced for brands such as Ferrero and Barilla. It also preserves early chromolithographs associated with printers who worked for publishers such as Minerva Libraria and collectors’ items referencing figures like Giuseppe Verdi, Guglielmo Marconi, and Enrico Fermi. The archives include correspondence, mock-ups, printing blocks, and production materials related to series produced by industrial partners including RCS Sport and collectors’ associations linked to Associazione Italiana Collezionismo.
Temporary and thematic exhibitions revisit topics such as the visual construction of sport (with panels on Pelé, Diego Maradona, and Franco Baresi), cinematic promotion featuring Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini, and advertising campaigns associated with Giulio Andreotti-era popular culture. The museum stages curatorial projects in collaboration with the Museo del Cinema and traveling loans from the V&A Museum and the Musée de la Publicité. Programs have included workshops with designers who worked on series for Panini and lectures by historians affiliated with universities such as the Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Università di Bologna, and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Seasonal events coincide with sports calendars involving federations like the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio and cultural festivals such as the Festival della Filosofia and the Modena Città del Vino initiative.
Housed in a restored commercial building in central Modena near the Piazza Grande, the museum offers climate‑controlled display galleries, a study room for researchers, a conservation laboratory equipped for paper conservation following guidelines similar to those used at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, and a repository for long-term storage. Visitor amenities include a bookstore with catalogues and cataloguing tools developed in partnership with the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, a small auditorium used for talks and screenings, and accessible facilities consistent with municipal regulations overseen by the Comune di Modena heritage office. The architectural interventions respected surrounding heritage sites such as the Duomo di Modena and planning guidance from the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio.
Educational outreach targets schools, families, and specialist collectors through curriculum-linked workshops, guided tours, and cataloguing internships developed with the Ministero della Cultura and local education authorities. Programs include hands-on sessions for primary students that integrate historical figures like Cristoforo Colombo and Leonardo da Vinci into visual literacy exercises, internships for library science students from the Università di Parma, and seminars for curators and conservators in collaboration with the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro. Outreach extends to digital initiatives, with digitisation projects coordinated with the Fondazione Biblioteche Modenesi and exchange agreements with international partners such as the Smithsonian Institution and the International Council of Museums.
The museum is governed by a board composed of municipal representatives from the Comune di Modena, donors from private collections, and cultural figures appointed in agreement with regional bodies including the Regione Emilia-Romagna. Funding sources combine municipal funding, project grants from the Ministero della Cultura, sponsorships from commercial partners such as Panini Group and Ferrero, and revenue from admission, retail, and membership programs managed by a non-profit association. Strategic partnerships and sponsorship agreements follow procurement and sponsorship frameworks used by institutions like the Musei Civici di Modena and are periodically audited according to regional transparency requirements administered by Regione Emilia-Romagna.
Category:Museums in Modena