National Museum of Photography
National Museum of Photography Contrada del Carmine, 2F, 25122, Brescia (BS)
The National Museum of Photography in Brescia offers a unique overview of the history of photography and cinema, from the early experiments of the 19th century to the digital era.
THE MUSEUM
Founded in 1953 as an initiative of the Cinefotoclub, an association of enthusiasts dedicated to collecting equipment and documents, the Museum today serves as a cultural space devoted to the historical and cultural dissemination of an art form that has changed the way we view the world.
Organized into thematic sections, the museum’s collections are displayed in different areas, such as the cinema room, which houses projectors and historical film cameras (including Pathé Baby, Bell & Howell, and Bolex Paillard models); the photography showcases, featuring daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and Lumière brothers’ autochrome plates; the camera room, with an exhibition of Leica, Zeiss, Kodak, and Agfa models; and finally, the technical room, containing a collection of historical equipment and tools for development and printing.
In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and features a library with over eight thousand specialized volumes, as well as an archive of approximately sixty thousand items—including plates, negatives, prints, and slides—a significant heritage that has made the Museum a key reference point for enthusiasts, professionals, researchers, and the curious alike.
