Le Musée Imaginaire
Collection
As part of the “è cultura!” event, an annual initiative promoted by ABI e ACRI, the historic headquarters of banks and banking foundations throughout Italy are opened to the public for free guided tours. The Fondazione CRT reopened its doors to the public on 11, 12, 18 and 19 October 2025.
Visitors had the opportunity to enjoy a new exhibition project featuring the stately rooms of the headquarters and a selection of works from the Fondazione Arte CRT’s collection, the art-oriented body of the Fondazione CRT, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Curated by Clemente Miccichè, the exhibition draws inspiration from André Malraux’s Musée Imaginaire, bringing together artists from different eras and languages with the Baroque history of Palazzo Perrone di San Martino to create evocative connections between past and present.
Ph credit: Pino Dell’Acquila
In 1947, André Malraux published Le Musée Imaginaire, an essay reflecting on how the spread of photography had made it possible for anyone to construct, in their own mind, a personal museum — an ideal space where works from different eras, languages, and origins could meet, generating new narratives and unprecedented stimuli.
Ultimately, every exhibition is a re-reading of the canon of art history: a selection of works and authors which, through reciprocal dialogue, offers the public a renewed vision.
The works gathered here span over seventy-five years of European art — from painting to sculpture, from photography to performance. The great protagonists of the Italian avant-gardes of the twentieth century stand alongside international masters and prominent contemporary artists, creating an interplay of different voices and visions.
Artists
Claudio Abate
Vito Acconci
Afro Basaldella (Afro)
Aurelio Amendola
Karel Appel
Vasco Bendini
Gianni Berengo Gardin
Norman Bluhm
Alfredo Chighine
Flavio Favelli
Luigi Ghirri
Francesco Jodice
Asger Jorn
Ketty La Rocca
Uliano Lucas
Anna Maria Maiolino
Ugo Mulas
Mario Nigro
Paola Pivi
Sergio Romiti
Antonio Sanfilippo
Giuseppe Santomaso
Toti Scialoja
Ferdinando Scianna
Sissi
Claudio Verna
As in Malraux’s imaginary museum, this exhibition invites viewers to look beyond the individual work to discover the unexpected connections that emerge from their encounter. For the first time, the collection engages in dialogue with the history and Baroque architecture of Palazzo Perrone di San Martino, offering the public an opportunity to rediscover this heritage in a new form — one capable of intertwining past and present into a single, living narrative.
Edizioni passate
Le Musée Imaginaire 2025
The Foundation CRT opened its doors to the public on 11, 12 and 18 October 2025. A special afternoon dedicated to children and families was scheduled for Sunday, 19 October. This event was part of ‘è Cultura!’, an annual initiative promoted by ABI and ACRI which opens historic bank and banking foundation headquarters throughout Italy for free guided tours.
This initiative gave citizens, tourists and enthusiasts, as well as children, the chance to explore historic buildings of significant historical and artistic value that are usually off-limits to the public as they are used for institutional activities.
The tour, which started at Via XX Settembre 31, took visitors through the stately rooms of the late 17th century building, which was renovated in the 18th century. Highlights included the Grand Staircase, the Hall of Honour, the Steering Committee Room, the balcony decorated with symbols of the city, hard work and thrift, the Presidents’ Room and the Boardroom.
To mark its 25th anniversary, the art-oriented arm of Fondazione CRT, Fondazione Arte CRT, presented an exhibition project for the stately rooms of the headquarters, displaying a selection of works from its own collection. Curated by Clemente Miccichè, the exhibition was inspired by André Malraux’s Musée Imaginaire and brought together artists from different eras and styles with the Baroque history of Palazzo Perrone di San Martino, creating evocative connections between past and present.
For the first time, the foundation also offered activities dedicated to children and families, guiding even the youngest visitors on a journey of discovery through the ‘great beauty’ of Palazzo Perrone, exploring its history and curiosities.
