pinacotheca Giovanni Morscio

The Pinacoteca Giovanni Morscio is an art museum located in Dolceacqua, in the Province of Imperia, Italy. Established in 1970, the institution is dedicated to the local painter Giovanni Morscio and serves as a cultural repository for early to mid-twentieth century Italian and French painting. It is housed in the Palazzo Luigina Garoscio.

The museum was founded in 1970 following a donation of artworks by Giovanni Morscio to the municipality of Dolceacqua. Morscio, who lived from 1887 to 1972, was a painter primarily devoted to fresco and still life. Active in Liguria and Nice, he exhibited at the Paris Salon des Indépendants in 1930 and also worked as a gallery owner in France. Following his death, the municipal administration enlarged the art collection during the 1980s. The museum was initially located in the former town hall before being transferred to its current site in the Palazzo Luigina Garoscio.

The collection centers on early twentieth century Italian and French painting, anchored by the work of Giovanni Morscio and his contemporaries. The original donation established a cross-regional focus, bridging Ligurian and French artistic circles. After Morscio's death, the museum expanded its scope through municipal acquisitions, adding further Italian painters to the roster and broadening the representation of regional modern art.

The original core of the collection features works by Morscio alongside paintings by his contemporaries, including Eloi Noël Bouvard, Mario Ameglio, Eugenio Bonivento, Cyrano Castelfranchi, Georges Chappuis, Gaston Cirmeuse, Yves Diey, Robert Duflos, Charley Garry, Maurice Martin, Maurice Louis Monnot, Fernando Pelosini, Alberto Rossi, and André Salomon Le Tropezien. Later additions to the holdings include paintings by Achille Cabiati, Marcello Cammi, Franco Giglio, and Mario Raimondo, also known as Barbadirame.

The museum is situated in the Palazzo Luigina Garoscio, also referred to as the Palazzo Doria Garoscio, located in the town of Dolceacqua. This historic palace serves as the permanent venue for the collection, succeeding the former municipal building that initially housed the donated works.

The Pinacoteca Giovanni Morscio is located in Dolceacqua, within the Province of Imperia in Italy. The institution operates under the municipal administration of Dolceacqua and maintains an official online presence through the local cultural website, culturadolceacqua.it.