The Carrino family is united by a great shared passion that it knows how to share with visitors: Beethoven. For over forty years they have collected busts, paintings, graphic art, editions, sculptures, medals, bookplates, postcards, figurines, art, stamps, documents, historical curiosities and réclame right through to kitsch objects dedicated to the great composer in their home. The approximately 10,000 pieces are organized into 12 thematic collections located in the various rooms of a house that is itself a tribute to the artist.
The rarity of the collected material is often appreciated by international collectors that seek them to put them on show in the major European settings.
The varied and surprising collection also impresses those who are not Beethoven fans, as a result of the care with which all the materials are presented. Having left the museum it is hard to resist the urge to listen to the symphonies and sonatas for which you have just seen the displays.
In addition to the value of the individual works on show, what is striking is the atmosphere of deep love and admiration that has accompanied the figure of Beethoven from the nineteenth century through to the present day and which manifests itself in various and unexpected ways .
1. Engraving by Alois Kolb from 1905, created thinking of the Ninth Symphony which depicts the face of Beethoven, topped by two figures who exchange the Kiss to the whole world;
2. Impressive bronze bust of Beethoven made by Giuseppe Mascherini in 1924;
3. First Edition of the score of the Ninth Symphony and the Missa Solemnis, 1826, 1827;
4. Collection of more than 350 bookplates dedicated to Beethoven and his works mainly carried out with the great elegance following the lines of the Liberty style of the early twentieth century.
5. Original kitsch. The charisma of Beethoven has inspired the creation of a range of very different objects, sometimes so original as to make the viewer smile, but also evoking a sense of admiration for a myth so strong it has overcome all boundaries of taste, age and origin.
