Casa Rusca is a typical 18th-century house that overlooks S. Antonio’s Square in Locarno. Looking at the facade, you can see references to its 18th-century feudal interior, such as the elegant balcony with the chiselled railing and the tall windows of the upper floors. By entering the house, one can only be amazed by the sober and regular inner courtyard enclosed by a series of loggias that develop on three levels.

In the 80s, after a careful restoration, the historic building became a museum and was transformed into the Casa Rusca Municipal Picture Gallery, which regularly hosts temporary exhibitions of international artists in its spaces since 1987.
The museum building includes an additional exhibition space called La Sinopia, which hosts different exhibitions.
From the S. Antonio’s Square, the building can be accessed through a passage that leads to the inner courtyard, which has been connected to the entrance to integrate it in the expositive pathway as an open-air museum space. On the upper floors, the path along the porch makes the exhibition itinerary immediately perceptible.

The conservative restoration, which was done through minimal but indispensable interventions, was carried out to re-valorise and reorganise the original spaces. The transformation was not a radical intervention aimed at eliminating the additions and transformations that the building had undergone over time.

The Museo Casa Rusca regularly hosts temporary exhibitions of Swiss and foreign artists with the possibility of guided tours on request. When there are no exhibitions, the Museum remains closed to the public.
The Museum is also accessible to disabled visitors.

Friends of Casa Rusca Association: www.amicicasarusca.ch