Parmeggiani Gallery

The Parmeggiani Gallery is a veritable treasure trove of history, art and curiosities.
Founded in 1925, the gallery came into being through the coming together of three 19th-century collections: the paintings, furniture and textiles of the painter and collector Ignacio Leon y Escosura; the weapons and jewellery from the renowned Parisian workshop Marcy; and the paintings of Cesare Detti.

The architect of this extraordinary union was Luigi Parmeggiani, a fascinating and controversial figure: an anarchist who turned to art and antiques, he was involved in an assassination attempt in Reggio Emilia in 1889 and found refuge in London, where he met Escosura.
From there, a long-standing partnership began that would take him to Paris to run the Louis Marcy Maison antique gallery, specialising in objects in the antique style – now sought after as authentic collector’s items – often embellished with enamels, semi-precious stones and heraldic motifs.

On Escosura’s death in 1902, Parmeggiani took the name Louis Marcy, continuing the trade in the famous Marcy forgeries and placing many pieces in major European public and private collections.
In 1920, he married Anna Detti, the niece of Madame Escosura and daughter of Cesare Detti, and together they returned to Reggio Emilia, bringing with them a vast artistic heritage.

The building that now houses the Gallery, constructed between 1925 and 1928 to a design by the engineer Ascanio Ferrari, is a masterpiece in the Gothic-Renaissance style.
The extraordinary 15th-century portal, originally from the Mosen Sorell Palace in Valencia, leads into spaces that feel like a journey through time, in perfect harmony with the collections on display: furniture, textiles, paintings and objects that tell the story of the ancient, medieval and Renaissance worlds.

In 1932, Anna and Luigi Parmeggiani donated the Gallery and the collection to the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, ensuring they would remain open to the public and leaving a cultural legacy that continues to fascinate visitors and art lovers to this day.