New Museo Bodoni in Parma opens with redesigned exhibition space

The Museo Bodoni in Parma has been relocated to a ground-floor space within the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta, after a €760,000 renovation funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The museum, originally established in 1963 on the 150th anniversary of Giambattista Bodoni's death, was previously housed on the top floor, making it difficult to access. The new layout, designed by director Simone Verde, features a wooden floor inspired by 19th-century French parquet and empire green walls. Visitors first encounter a reconstruction of a typographic press, followed by displays of Bodoni's sketches, drawings, and original type punches housed in Louis XV cabinets and a new mosaic arrangement. The museum also showcases a custom-built bookcase containing rare Bodoni editions from the Biblioteca Palatina, including the 1769 'Descrizione delle Feste' for the wedding of Duke Ferdinando and Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria, the 'Manuale tipografico' (1818), and Poliziano's 'Stanze' printed on silk. A multimedia table allows digital browsing of works such as the 'Oratio Dominica' (1806), printed in 155 languages using 215 typefaces. The renovation was completed after a 2013 exhibition curated by Andrea De Pasquale for the bicentennial of Bodoni's death.