Big Donors Section The development of the city’s historical and artistic heritage has always been linked to acts of generosity—an expression of sharing and a sense of belonging to one’s local community. Throughout the 20th century, several distinguished and visionary citizens of Forlì emerged who decided to permanently link the art collections in their possession to the city’s cultural heritage, thereby making them accessible to all citizens and visitors. The new section dedicated to the Great Donors showcases a superb collection of works of art while also bringing to life the personalities and stories of the individual donors, recounting a specific historical moment that is both rich and fascinating for both national and local history. At the same time, the collections on display offer a glimpse into the taste of a passionate art collector, presenting a story within a story. In one of the wings of the San Domenico Civic Museum, the collection of paintings donated in 1932 by engineer Giuseppe Pedriali—a renowned specialist in metropolitan infrastructure—had already been on display and is now presented in a new exhibition format. This collection of twenty-eight paintings fully embodies the cultural tastes prevalent in Europe between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bringing together notable works by artists such as Ruysch, De Braekeleer, Verboeckhoven, Fattori, Sablet, Magnasco, Luciani, and Crivellino. The three rooms leading up to the Pedriali Collection now house a collection of seven sculptures by Adolfo Wildt, donated by Marquis Raniero Paulucci di Calboli in 1931, and a collection of three small oil paintings on canvas and six etchings by the artist Giorgio Morandi, donated in 1971 by Arturo and Ada Righini, to create a new museum itinerary that is cohesive in both content and meaning. This new exhibition route expresses the city’s gratitude to those who, in the spirit of true patronage, have parted with their own possessions to share them as public assets, thereby contributing to the growth of Forlì’s Civic Collections.
