Villa Panza, known today throughout the world as a center of contemporary art, has origins that date back to the eighteenth century, when the Marquis Paolo Antonio Menafoglio identified the top of the hill of Biumo, in Varese, as the ideal place for his country home.

Expanded thanks to the subsequent interventions of Luigi Canonica in the early nineteenth century and Piero Portaluppi in the 1930s, the residence took on a new purpose when Count Giuseppe Panza began to create a collection of twentieth-century art in the 1950s.

The extraordinary works of contemporary American art collected since the 1950s by the great collector Giuseppe Panza di Biumo have given life to a place that represents (…) the union between Europe and America in its full expression.

(Wim Wenders, 2015)

The “enlightenment” came during a trip to America in 1954, when Panza was fascinated by the myth of modernity, by the great open expanses, by the light and that sense of inebriating freedom that are the basis of the American Dream.

He thus began to purchase works by American artists, like a true visionary, when in Italy gallery owners only had Italian artists and in museums it had not yet become fashionable to exhibit international works. With incredible flair and a lot of study, he bought what he liked and believed in, managing to put together what is today one of the largest collections in the world of post-war American art.

Inspired by the themes of light and color, he chose Villa Panza, characterized by the spectacular light that filters into every room thanks to the passage halls, as the ideal “home” to exhibit his works.

Emblematic in this sense is the Ala dei rustici, where environmental and site-specific art installations alternate throughout the year, almost a temple dedicated to the element of light. Among these, the works of Dan Flavin stand out, of whom the collection boasts the largest concentration of works permanently exhibited, James Turrell and Robert Irwin.

While in the central body of Villa Panza some nuclei of the last phase of this collection are exhibited, in particular the minimal and monochrome works, the organic and conceptual art of artists including Phil Sims, David Simpson, Ruth Ann Fredenthal, Max Cole, Ford Beckman, Ross Rudel, Alfonso Fratteggiani Bianchi and Ettore Spalletti, harmoniously combined with precious furnishings from the 15th, 18th and 19th centuries and examples of African and pre-Columbian art.

At Villa Panza it is possible to spend an entire day immersed in art and nature. In addition to the interiors, there are, in fact, 33,000 square meters of park enriched by works of Land Art and the Luce Restaurant, perfect after a visit to the collections.

A place much loved also by the people of Varese who come here to spend a few hours surrounded by nature, just like in English parks, perhaps sitting on the grass or on the deckchairs provided. A British flavour that is not accidental given that the garden was redesigned in the early decades of the 19th century based on the principles of English landscaping.

The Secret

Giuseppe Panza has always said in interviews that he absorbed his passion from his mother and aunt who were painters. Perhaps for this reason, he wanted his 5 children to grow up literally surrounded by art, playing “with” and “among” the works of art that we see exhibited today.

Useful Info

Villa e Collezione Panza
Piazza Litta 1
21100 Varese
Tel. +39 0332 283960

Entrance to the Villa, Park and Exhibitions: 15 euro
Entrance to the Park only: 5 euro
Entrance to the Park is free for residents of the Municipality of Varese from Tuesday to Friday
For discounts and other offers visit the Villa website