Municipal Art Gallery of Civitella in Val di Chiana

The Art Gallery of Civitella in Val di Chiana contains the works of artists who participated in the prestigious national painting competition “Premio Città di Civitella”, established in 1964 to promote the cultural growth of the local community in the post-war period. 

In the early 1960s, there was a strong sense of urgency to revive Civitella, which had been badly scarred by the tragic events of 1944. The Pro Loco Association emerged to lead this revival and, from the very beginning, it chose to focus on culture as a driver of rebirth.

In this way, an impromptu painting prize was organized and was enthusiastically received, immediately attracting audiences and artists. 

In the 1970s, in the face of growing success, the event was transformed into a National Painting Prize with studio works, alternating each year with a sculpture exhibition entitled "(S)Oggettivamente”. This new formula led to a qualitative leap: alongside the purchase prizes from the sponsoring institutions, sculptures and paintings donated by the artists were added and they were given the opportunity to have a free solo exhibition in Civitella.

The art collection was gradually enriched, so much so that it pushed the Municipal Government to give it a permanent home. The former school building was renovated and adapted, as much as possible, to satisfy the needs of a museum. After careful selection of paintings and sculptures, the Municipal Gallery of Contemporary Art was opened and is still the pride and joy of the community.

The Civitella collection in numbers:

• About 200 paintings: around 100 displayed in the gallery, 28 located in the city hall, others in storage and 1 abroad.
• Nearly 70 sculptures: 38 small ones displayed in the gallery and 28 large ones permanently installed in the village.

Today, Civitella is a well-known name on the visual arts scene and continues to be enriched thanks to new donations of works of great artistic value.