Museum of cultures

The Museum of Non European Cultures has found a nice and functional seat at Villa Heleneum, which is situated on the Gandria path in Lugano, between the localities of Cortivo and San Domenico. The villa is immerged in a public park on the lake’s shore and is a neo-classical style building, built between 1930 and 1934, copy of a famous 18th Century villa, Le Petit Trianon, built by Louis XV near the Palace of Versaille. The museum is set up on three floors, corresponding to different exhibition lay outs. The idea is to present the objects in the most suitable way and so as to correspond to their place of origin, to the different civilizations and also to thematic needs. The Museum of Non European Cultures was made possible thanks to the fact that in 1985, Serge e Graziella Brignoni (two artists connected to the Surrealistic Movement) donated their collection to the City of Lugano. The Brignoni Collection is, in its genre, one of the most important in Europe and is comprised of about 600 objects of primitive art coming from three continents: Oceania, Asia and Africa. These are all artefacts connected to religious worship and daily life.

This huge collection is completed by a Centre for Ethnographic Studies, with a specialized library. The Centre also deals with organizing congresses, seminars, conferences and other cultural events having to do with the subject matter dealt with by the Museum, including didactic activities.