The Fisogni Museum of the petrol station (in the past also SIRM Museum"Museo Sirm", Electa, 1993 or Ormad Valseveso Museum"Mai a corto di carburante" in "Capital", February 1993), in Tradate, Italy, is a museum about gas pumps, gas stations and petroliana, founded by Guido Fisogni in 1966.
With its 8000 pieces, between gas pumps, signs and gadgets,"Cultura, a rischio 15 musei. Li vuole il sultano del Bahrein" in "Corriere della Sera", 18 April 2006 the collection is the biggest in the world in its genre, certified by Guinness World Records in 2000."Guinness World records 2002 : il guinness dei primati", Mondadori, 2001 The Museum is also part of the "Lombard Circuit of Design Museum" and of the "Italian Design Network" by Triennale di Milano.Joseph Grima, "Triennale Milano. La rete dei giacimenti del Design Italiano", Electa, 2020
History The Museum was founded in 1966 in Palazzolo Milanese (Paderno Dugnano). The entrepreneur Guido Fisogni, son of Alpini General and nobleman Federico Fisogni"Vita, guerre, avventure e altro del nobiluomo Federico Fisogni, colonnello degli alpini", Palazzolo Milanese, 2006 and of countess Elisabetta Barbiano di Belgioioso,"Fisogni - Famiglia Lombarda iscritta nell'elenco ufficiale della nobiltà italiana con Provvedimento di Giustizia con titolo di nobile", 1960 had a society that built gas stations in Italy and Europe, and in 1961"Museum notes from Italy" in "Automobilia Resource", September 2019 decided to collect old gas pumps and related objects, starting from an old Italian fuel pump by Bergomi, from the 1920s. From 1966 to 2000 the collection, example of Modern antique and industrial archeology, was enlarged with globes, gadgets, tools, graphics, toys and documents from different countries. The Museum now hosts more than 180 fuel dispensers (from 1892 to 2001) anche more than 8.000 objects.
In 1994 the Museum assumed its present name.
When Guido Fisogni sold his company, in 2000, the Museum remained closed for 15 years, before re-opening in 2015 in Tradate,"Con 180 distributori storici apre il museo della benzina", in "Corriere della Sera", 26 April 2015 in the ancient buildings of "Villa Castiglioni", previously home of Cesare Castiglioni, nobleman, soldier of Giuseppe Garibaldi and entrepreneur.
The collection of the museum includes many vintage graphics by important designers and illustrators (like Plinio Codognato or Lora Lamm) and among the most important pieces there are a gas pump designed by Marcello Nizzoli for Agip in 1960 and Benito Mussolini's private fuel pump,"Old Gasoline Pumps Fire Up Collectors", in "The Wall Street Journal", August 2012 probably designed by Marcello Piacentini. The historical location is also used for private and corporate events, exhibitions and cultural events."The Fisogni Museum" in "Check the Oil", October 2018
Bergomi archive
The Museum preserves also part of the historical archive of Società Anonima Bergomi, an Italian company existed from 1906 to 1993, which built gas pumps in the 20th century, with ancient projects and photos from 1909 to the 1950s.
Villa Castiglioni The manor, belonging to Pusterla family, was bought by the Castiglionis in 1781, and then enlarged during the 19th century, mainly thanks to Cesare Castiglioni. The courtyard where the Museum is exposed dates back to 1840, while the residential area, in neo-Gothic style, assumed this shape around 1875 .Davide Zaffaroni, "Cesare Castiglioni dei Mille di Marsala", in "I Quaderni dell'Associazione Studi Storici Tradatesi", Macchione, 2008 The courtyard was abandoned until 2015, when it was restored to house the museum.
Gallery
See also List of petroleum and gas museums
References
External links http://www.museo-fisogni.org