Italian Patrons Open New Museum in Menton, French Riviera

The Musée Marabini-Martac, a new private museum in Menton on the French Riviera, opened in early summer 2025. Founded by Italian patrons Liana Marabini-Martac and Mauro Marabini, it is the first private museum in Menton, housed in the historic Hotel des Ambassadeurs, a Belle Époque building designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1865. The museum displays over 900 works including paintings, sculptures, photographs, books, and manuscripts. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Il cibo nell’arte attraverso i secoli' (Food in Art Through the Centuries), explores culinary themes in art history, featuring works by Guido Reni, Giorgio Morandi, William Turner, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dalí, Lucio Fontana, and Banksy. The museum also presents a selection of 13th-century terracotta sculptures from the Majapahit kingdom. Conceived as a space without temporal or stylistic barriers, the museum aims to liberate artworks from chronology and authorship, inspired by the Wunderkammer philosophy. It includes a didactic gallery, a music room for concerts, a cinema focus with gastronomic film posters, a library with Dalí-illustrated Rabelais lithographs, a sculpture garden, a bar, and a rooftop restaurant. The Marabinis previously founded the Biennale d’Arte Contemporanea Sacra (BACS) in Menton (next edition October 2025) and the private museum Arte e Cibo in Mongardino, Italy. Liana Marabini Martac serves as museum director and is also a film producer. The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, admission €10.