Fisogni Museum

The Fisogni Museum of the petrol station (in the past also SIRM Museum[1] or Ormad Valseveso Museum[2]), in Tradate, Italy, is a museum about gas pumps, gas stations and petroliana, founded by Guido Fisogni in 1966.

Fisogni Museum
Established1966 (1966)
LocationTradate (Varese), Italy
Coordinates45°42′47″N 8°54′05″E
Collection sizeapprox. 8.000 objects
FounderGuido Fisogni
Websitewww.museo-fisogni.org

With its 8000 pieces, between gas pumps, signs and gadgets,[3] the collection is the biggest in the world in its genre, certified by Guinness World Records in 2000.[4] The Museum is also part of the "Lombard Circuit of Design Museum"[5] and of the "Italian Design Network" by Triennale di Milano.[6]

History

The Museum was founded in 1966[7] in Palazzolo Milanese (Paderno Dugnano). The entrepreneur Guido Fisogni,[8] son of Alpini General and nobleman Federico Fisogni[9][10] and of countess Elisabetta Barbiano di Belgioioso,[11] had a society that built gas stations in Italy and Europe, and in 1961[12] decided to collect old gas pumps and related objects, starting from an old Italian fuel pump by Bergomi, from the 1920s.[13] From 1966 to 2000 the collection, example of Modern antique[14] and industrial archeology, was enlarged with globes, gadgets, tools, graphics, toys and documents from different countries. The Museum now hosts more than 180 fuel dispensers (from 1892 to 2001) anche more than 8.000 objects.

In 1994 the Museum assumed its present name.[15]

When Guido Fisogni sold his company, in 2000, the Museum remained closed for 15 years, before re-opening in 2015 in Tradate,[16] in the ancient buildings of "Villa Castiglioni",[17] previously home of Cesare Castiglioni, nobleman, soldier of Giuseppe Garibaldi and entrepreneur.

The collection of the museum includes many vintage graphics by important designers and illustrators (like Plinio Codognato or Lora Lamm) and among the most important pieces there are a gas pump designed by Marcello Nizzoli for Agip in 1960 and Benito Mussolini's private fuel pump,[18] probably designed by Marcello Piacentini. The historical location is also used for private and corporate events, exhibitions and cultural events.[19]

Bergomi archive

The Museum preserves also part of the historical archive of Società Anonima Bergomi, an Italian company existed from 1906 to 1993, which built gas pumps in the 20th century,[20][21][22] with ancient projects and photos from 1909 to the 1950s.

Villa Castiglioni

The manor, belonging to Pusterla family, was bought by the Castiglionis in 1781, and then enlarged during the 19th century, mainly thanks to Cesare Castiglioni. The courtyard where the Museum is exposed dates back to 1840, while the residential area, in neo-Gothic style, assumed this shape around 1875 .[23][24] The courtyard was abandoned until 2015, when it was restored to house the museum.[25][26]

  • Benito Mussolini's gas pump
    Benito Mussolini's gas pump
  • Marcello Nizzoli's gas pump
    Marcello Nizzoli's gas pump
  • Villa Castiglioni
    Villa Castiglioni
  • 1970s gas pumps
    1970s gas pumps
  • The 1840 courtyard
    The 1840 courtyard

See also

References
  1. "Museo Sirm", Electa, 1993
  2. "Mai a corto di carburante" in "Capital", February 1993
  3. "Cultura, a rischio 15 musei. Li vuole il sultano del Bahrein" in "Corriere della Sera", 18 April 2006
  4. "Guinness World records 2002 : il guinness dei primati", Mondadori, 2001
  5. "Museo Fisogni delle pompe di benzina". museidesign.it. Musei Design.
  6. Joseph Grima, "Triennale Milano. La rete dei giacimenti del Design Italiano", Electa, 2020
  7. "Museo Fisogni, il paradiso delle pompe di benzina". quartamarcia.it. Quartamarcia. 22 November 2018.
  8. "Un secolo di benzina nelle stanze del mio museo" (PDF). archivio.unita.news. L’Unità. 1 March 1997.
  9. "Il colonnello Fisogni". www.alpinipadernodugnano.it.
  10. "Vita, guerre, avventure e altro del nobiluomo Federico Fisogni, colonnello degli alpini", Palazzolo Milanese, 2006
  11. "Fisogni - Famiglia Lombarda iscritta nell'elenco ufficiale della nobiltà italiana con Provvedimento di Giustizia con titolo di nobile", 1960
  12. "Museum notes from Italy" in "Automobilia Resource", September 2019
  13. "Museo Fisogni, il paradiso delle pompe di benzina". quartamarcia.it. Quartamarcia. 22 November 2018.
  14. "Tg2 Costume & Società". www.rai.it. Rai. June 2020.
  15. Guido Fisogni (1995). Museo Fisogni.
  16. "Con 180 distributori storici apre il museo della benzina", in "Corriere della Sera", 26 April 2015
  17. "Drive in virtuale dedicato alle Star del Biscione". ansa.it. 27 April 2020.
  18. "Old Gasoline Pumps Fire Up Collectors", in "The Wall Street Journal", August 2012
  19. "The Fisogni Museum" in "Check the Oil", October 2018
  20. "Collaborazioni". www.museo-fisogni.org.
  21. "1930-Bergomi production". www.museo-fisogni.org. 9 March 2015.
  22. "Società Anonima Bergomi-Non solo distributori". www.museo-fisogni.org. February 2019.
  23. Ernesto Restelli (2001). Lonate Ceppino. Reggiani.
  24. Davide Zaffaroni, "Cesare Castiglioni dei Mille di Marsala", in "I Quaderni dell’Associazione Studi Storici Tradatesi", Macchione, 2008
  25. "Storia di Villa Castiglioni (XVIII-XI sec.)". www.museo-fisogni.org. 30 November 2018.
  26. "The restoration of the Fisogni Museum". www.museo-fisogni.org.
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