«Giovanni Migliara. Luce e memoria» Exhibition at the Palatium Vetus

From 28 November 2026 to 23 May 2027 the Palatium Vetus in Alessandria, in piazza della Libertà, hosts the exhibition «Giovanni Migliara. Luce e memoria. La poesia dello sguardo tra realtà e invenzione» ("Giovanni Migliara. Light and memory. The poetry of the gaze between reality and invention"), dedicated to the painter Giovanni Migliara (Alessandria, 1785 – Milan, 1837). The exhibition is curated by Mariateresa Cairo and Vittoria Oneto and produced by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria ^[1]. The opening is set for Friday 27 November at 5.30 p.m., with free admission to the public from the following day ^[1].

The exhibition

The retrospective brings together more than 160 works — oils, drawings, albums and fixés — from the collections of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, the city's Pinacoteca e Museo Civico and loans, including pieces from private collections never shown before ^[1]. The exhibition presents the architecture of Cistercian churches and cloisters alongside urban views of Milan, Venice and Genoa, in which Migliara, who trained as a stage designer, combines the precision of eighteenth-century vedutismo with a Romantic sensitivity for light ^[1]. The exhibition revives, almost ninety years on, the retrospective dedicated to the artist in 1937 ^[1].

The loans from Turin

Among the works on display is «Il Bucintoro al Molo nel giorno dell'Ascensione» ("The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day") by Canaletto, an oil on canvas datable to around 1740, on loan from the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin, shown alongside Migliara's painting for comparison ^[1]. Also on display is the drawing «Silvio Pellico nella scuola di mutuo insegnamento di Santa Caterina a Milano» ("Silvio Pellico at the Santa Caterina mutual-teaching school in Milan"), made by Migliara between 1815 and 1820 and held at the Museo del Risorgimento Italiano in Turin ^[1].

The cultural project

The president of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria, Paolo Arrobbio, said the initiative renews the foundation's commitment to promoting the area's historic and artistic heritage and that the Palatium Vetus is confirmed as a landmark for the city ^[1]. The exhibition is part of a wider project to promote the cultural and tourist appeal of Alessandria and the Monferrato, aimed at promoting the area's artistic heritage together with its landscape, historical and food-and-wine resources ^[1].

Sources

1. Alessandria, mostra Giovanni Migliara Palatium Vetus Fondazione CRAL — Radio Gold, 12 November 2026