Originating from the shared will of Museums and modern and contemporary art Foundations, the site offers an instant overview of the rich and varied presence of exhibition spaces in the Locarno area. An unprecedented project that brings together public and private bodies and is based on a sentiment of cohesion and collaboration.
MINUSIO
Centro Elisarion
Since 1981 the Elisarion has been promoting a rich programme of cultural events. The building, originally conceived as a temple devoted to Klarismus, was built in 1927 by the painter and writer Elisà r von Kupffer and the philosopher and historian of religions Eduard von Mayer. The celebrated painting Il Chiaro mondo dei beati, removed during the renovation work, can be seen in the pavilion of the same name at Monte Verità .
Centro Elisarion
Via Rinaldo Simen 3
Casella postale 8
6648 Minusio
+41 91 743 66 71
Opening hours
The opening hours are available on the website.
Access
Bus line 311
LOCARNO
Fondazione Ghisla
Art Collection
The Foundation exhibits the contemporary art collection belonging to the Ghisla spouses, which includes masterpieces by the great masters of the past eighty years, amongst whom the names of Basquiat, Miró, Magritte, Picasso, Botero, Haring, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Mathieu, Fontana, Christo & Jeanne-Claude stand out in particular. On the Foundation’s premises, temporary exhibitions alternating Swiss and international artists are also organized.
LOCARNO
Fondazione Remo Rossi
The objective of the Foundation is to conserve and promote the work of the Locarno sculptor Remo Rossi, also by relaunching the artistic community he conceived in the 1960s. The venue is the artist’s home, where exhibitions linked to the figure of Rossi and his artist friends are organised and where it is possible to consult the rich art library and documents from the archives.
Fondazione Remo Rossi
Via F. Rusca 8
6600 Locarno
+41 91 751 21 66
Opening hours
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday : 09.00–11.30
Friday: 14.00–17.30
Access
Bus lines 1 | 4 | 7
LOCARNO
Museo Casa Rusca
The Museum is located in a typical eighteenth-century home, overlooking Piazza Sant’Antonio in Locarno. Following careful renovation work, in the 1980s the building was put to use as a museum which, since 1987, has regularly hosted temporary exhibitions by international artists, as well as showings devoted to local painters and sculptors.
Museo Casa Rusca
Piazza Sant’Antonio 1
6600 Locarno
+41 91 756 31 85
Opening hours
March 16–August 17, 2025
September 21, 2025–January 11, 2026
Tuesday–Sunday and holidays: 10.00–16:30
Access
Bus lines 3 | 7
LOCARNO
Museo Casorella
The Museum, situated alongside the Visconteo Castle offers a permanent home to the City Art Collection. On exhibition are a selection of works from the Jean and Marguerite Arp donation, including works by the great artist from Alsace and fellow artists close to him. A series of paintings by Filippo Franzoni are exhibited on the second floor, and in the outside spaces sculptures by Max Bill can be viewed.
Museo Casorella
Via Bartolomeo Rusca 5
6600 Locarno
+41 91 756 31 80
Opening hours
April 6, 2025–January 11, 2026
Tuesday–Sunday and holidays: 10.00–16.30
Access
Bus lines 1 | 4 | 7
LOCARNO-SOLDUNO
Fondazione
Marguerite Arp
Created in 1988 by Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach, Jean Arp’s widow, the Foundation is located in the artist’s studio-home and houses most of Jean and Marguerite Arp’s collection, the archives and a library. In 2014 the historical complex was enhanced by a new building –designed by Gigon Guyer Partner Architekten – with an exhibition space open to the public.
Fondazione Marguerite Arp
Via alle Vigne 46
6600 Locarno–Solduno
+41 91 751 25 43
Opening hours
April 20–November 2, 2025
Sunday: 14.00–18.00
Out of hours guided tours by appointment.
Access
Train line R70
ASCONA
Museo Castello
San Materno
The Museum exhibits the art collection of the Kurt and Barbara Alten Foundation for Culture, which includes works by artists from the German-language area active in the 19th and 20th centuries: the impressionists Lovis Corinth and Max Liebermann, the artists of the Worpswede colony and the representatives of the Brücke and the Blaue Reiter. Every year, in collaboration with the Alten Foundation, temporary exhibitions are organised.
Museo Castello San Materno
Via Losone 10
6612 Ascona
+41 91 759 81 60
Opening hours
March 8–December 28, 2025
Thursday– Saturday : 10.00–12.00 | 14.00–17.00
Sunday and holidays : 14.00–16.00
Access
Bus line 1
ASCONA
Museo Comunale
d’Arte Moderna
Founded in 1922, thanks to the artists of the historical avant-gardes who took refuge in Ascona, it houses the Municipal Art Collection, enhanced by endowments from Carl Weidemeyer, Charlotte Bara and Anna Iduna Zehnder. It highlights the collection of the Marianne Werefkin Foundation, artist of the Blaue Reiter, and collaborates with the Richard and Uli Seewald Foundation. It organises historical and contemporary exhibitions in keeping with Monte Verità ’s exceptional history.
Museo Comunale d’Arte Moderna
Via Borgo 34
6612 Ascona
+41 91 759 81 40
Opening hours
March 16, 2025–January 4, 2026
Tuesday– Saturday: 10.00–12.00 | 14.00–17.00
Sunday and holidays: 10.30–12.30
Access
Bus line 1
ASCONA
Fondazione Monte VeritÃ
Monte Verità is a place of exceptional cultural value. In the course of the 20th century, few other places have hosted such a great number of artists, writers, philosophers and dancers, attracted by the mild climate and the desire to discover like-minded people, with whom to share a path of artistic and spiritual searching. The history and individuals that have inhabited this place come back to life in the Museum.
Fondazione Monte VeritÃ
Strada Collina 84
6612 Ascona
+41 91 785 40 40
Opening hours
March 15–November 2, 2025
Access
Bus line 1
The museum complex consists of: Casa Anatta, Casa Selma, Casa dei Russi, Elisarion Pavilion. The opening hours are available on the Foundation website.
ASCONA
Fondazione Ignaz
e Mischa Epper
The purpose of the Foundation, situated in the old town centre of Borgo di Ascona, is to conserve and exhibit the work of Ignaz and Mischa Epper. Ignaz Epper (1892-1969) is one of the leading exponents of Swiss expressionism, whilst Mischa Epper (1901-1978) was a sculptress and graphic artist. The Foundation’s three exhibition rooms house works by Ignaz and Mischa Epper, as well as by other artists.
TEGNA
Galleria Carlo Mazzi
The gallery was founded in 1993 by Laura Mazzi, widow of the painter and ceramist Carlo Mazzi (1911-1988), in memory of her husband. It is located in the centre of Tegna, and is part of the property where Carlo Mazzi was born, lived and worked. It offers exhibitions of modern and contemporary art; at the same time it keeps open the artist’s atelier, which has remained unchanged over time, where his works are kept.
INTRAGNA
Museo Regionale delle Centovalli e del Pedemonte
In four rooms on the third floor of the sixteenth-century Casa Maggetti, home to the ethnographic Museum since 1989, art exhibitions are regularly hosted, giving priority to works by local artists. The exhibitions are a showcase of artistic expression on the territory and contribute to extending and deepening the bond between the resident population and the artists in the region.
