Museum
Museo Napoleonico is situated in Rivoli, a small town which lies 191 m above sea level and 25 km to the north-east of Verona. The museum is privately owned and was opened in 1973 by Prof. Luigi Galanti.
The museum houses some of the most important treasures connected to the history of the battles during the Napoleonic Wars, in particular the Battle of Rivoli, which took place on January 14th, 1797. A miniature model of the battle shows to the smallest detail the Battle of Rivoli, paintings, portraits, documents, prints and reproductions also bear witness to the Napoleonic period in this region.
History
The historic background is provided by the 13-months long Italian campaign under the supreme command of Napoleon given to him by the Directory. This campaign, which ended in a French victory, is a manifestation of the admirable achievements by the strategist Napoleon. More than 150000 enemy troops and twelve large battles were won by an almost always outnumbered French army. Even the equipment of the French army could not be compared to that of the Austrian troops. However, despite their inferior equipment, the French succeeded in conquering 170 colours and about 1100 guns. The losses of the Austrian army ran as high as 43.000 men.
Exhibition
The exhibition is meant as a reminder of the events of the Battle of Rivoli which took place on January 14th, 1797. It centres around the presentation of a historic-psychological profile of General Bonaparte who later was to become Napoleon I.
The exhibition offers a complete picture of the situation in Europe, of the battle and the final consequences brought on by the fighting.
The first part includes a series of prints and shows some documents acknowledging the arrival of Bonaparte in Italy, as well as essential facts, presenting the situation before the battle such as the writing with the signature of commissioner Salicetti Bonaparte after the conquest of Lake Garda, photocopies of documents related to various stages of the battle of the Museum of War in Vienna and reports of detailed and interesting events dating from November 1796 to the Peace of Tolentino.
Part of the museum is dedicated to the period of the Risorgimento, which, seen from a European context, forms part of the movements of independence. Taking the French Revolution as the perfect model and - but here historian are still in a dispute – commencing with Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1796, the movement of liberation also took place in Italy.
Opening times
March to October
9.30 to 12.00
and
15.30 to 18.30
Mondays and Wednesday the museum is closed
(open only on appointment and after prior booking)
Price list
Adults: 2,50 Euros
Children: 1,50 Euro
Groups (more than 20 persons): 1,50 Euro per person
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