Museo Casa dell’Orfano Mons. Antonietti

The Casa dell’Orfano in Clusone was founded in 1925 by the Bergamo Provincial Patronage for War Orphans at the behest of Mons. Giovanni Antonietti and was the first residential house in Italy.

Mons. Antonietti (1892–1976), a priest and military chaplain in the First World War, looked after orphans of war in the province of Bergamo, giving them the chance to study and offering room and board on the property.

Between 1926 and 1950, a small village was established in the heart of the Pineta di Clusone, comprising a caretaker’s lodge with infirmary and outpatient clinic, dormitory, school, theatre and farmhouse along with a church dedicated to Christ the King, designed by Engineer Luigi Angelini in 1929 and frescoed by Pasquale Arzuffi, Pietro Servalli and Fermo Taragni.

At the end of the Second World War, Count Giacomo Suardo bequeathed to the Casa dell’Orfano antique furniture, his prestigious personal library, a collection of Italian and foreign porcelain, earthenware and majolica, as well as antique paintings now on display at the Museo Arte Tempo (MAT).

The house is currently administered by the Foundation of the same name in conjunction with the Association of Friends and Former Students of Mons. Antonietti.

Thanks to a relaunch project, designed with the help of the Cooperativa Aquilone, the museum will have a calendar of scheduled openings, with guided tours of the entire complex.

For all the opening dates and times, click here..