Mario Rimoldi Modern Art Museum

The Mario Rimoldi Modern Art Museum is a contemporary and modern art institution located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, within the Province of Belluno. Established in 1974, it holds one of the most significant collections of twentieth-century Italian art in the country, specifically recognized by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. The museum provides a critical perspective on the modern art movement in the Veneto region prior to 1940, while also encompassing broader national and international developments. It is one of three museums administered by Le Regole d'Ampezzo, alongside the Rinaldo Zardini Palaeontology Museum and the Regole of Ampezzo Ethnographic Museum.

The museum originated from the private collecting efforts of Mario Rimoldi, a passionate art patron who began acquiring works when public institutions were slow to support modern art. His early purchases reflected nineteenth-century Italian painting traditions, but he soon shifted to contemporary artists, often displaying their canvases in the tourist agency he managed and at the Hotel Corona. By the time the first International Collector's Exhibition opened in Cortina in 1941, the Rimoldi collection was already well defined. In 1963, the collection was transferred to Le Regole d'Ampezzo. The museum officially opened in 1974 following a donation by Rosa Braun, Rimoldi's widow, and by 1995 the collection had grown to 364 works of art.

The collection is distinguished by its concentration of influential Italian art produced between World War I and World War II. In the postwar period, Rimoldi expanded the collection to include experimental works by artists already represented, as well as pieces tied to the figurative tradition and the Veneto environment, such as those by Guido Cadorin, Giuseppe Cesetti, Bruno Saetti, Fiorenzo Tomea, and Fortunato Depero. He also acquired works by protagonists of new postwar experimentation, including Antonio Corpora, Roberto Crippa, Gianni Dova, Ennio Morlotti, Giuseppe Santomaso, and Emilio Vedova. Beyond Italy, Rimoldi discovered foreign artists like Oskar Kokoschka, Fernand Léger, Jacques Villon, and Ossip Zadkine, and engaged with the neo-avant-garde and abstractionists of the 1950s. Following the museum's opening, the holdings were further enriched by donations from artists such as Zoran Mušič, Alis Levi, Ferruccio Gard, Mario Madiai, Armando De Stefano, Renato Restelli, Alba Gonzales, Cesarina Seppi, Ida Barbarigo Cadorin, and Davide Orler.

The permanent exhibition features prominent works by Filippo De Pisis, Felice Carena, Pio Semeghini, Renato Guttuso, Tullio Garbari, and Massimo Campigli. The 1941 exhibition highlighted specific strengths in the collection, including paintings by Giorgio De Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, Ottone Rosai, Mario Sironi, Gino Severini, Arturo Tosi, Mario Tozzi, and Guido Guidi. A signature work within the collection is La Zolfara by Renato Guttuso. Many of the artists represented, such as De Chirico, Sironi, Campigli, and Mušič, developed fruitful friendships with Rimoldi while frequenting the Ampezzo valley.

The museum is housed within the Casa delle Regole, also known as Ciasa de ra Regoles, which serves as the seat of Le Regole d'Ampezzo, the collective entity governing local woods and pastures. The building is situated along the Corso Italia, near the Basilica dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo. Inside, the ground floor and the first floor are dedicated to temporary exhibitions, while the second floor hosts the permanent collection. The institution also functions as a venue for live music performances.

Located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the museum is owned and operated by Le Regole d'Ampezzo. Its institutional mission is to conserve, promote, and enhance the collection, while disseminating knowledge of Mario Rimoldi's role as a collector and fostering interest in twentieth-century Italian art. The museum actively collaborates by lending works to temporary exhibitions at major institutions in Italy and abroad, and it maintains an ongoing dialogue with contemporary artists. Information regarding access and current programming is available via the institution's official website.