The Museum draws its origin and name from Glauco Lombardi (1881-1970), historian and art collector. He dedicated his entire life and economic resources to the recovery of artworks, objects and documents belonging to Parma history, focusing mainly on the sovereings of XVIII and XIX century, a period dominated by the Bourbon family and by archduchess Marie Louise of Habsburg – in Parma known as Maria Luigia.
The latter, formerly Empress of France as wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, for over 30 years ruled the town, leaving monuments and memories which made her a particularly beloved Duchess. She also left a huge numbers of personal objects: jewels, nécessaires, precious textiles, curious objects and family portraits both from the Empire and the Ducal period, which Lombardi succedeed in acquiring from her descendants, a legacy that became the core of the Museum.
The collection is also composed of other sections devoted to local arts, which can boast a number of unrivalled artists: Paolo Toschi, acknoledged by all Europe as the most accomplished engraver of the time, the printer Giambattista Bodoni, known for his typographical excellence,the brilliant architect Enneamond-Alexandre Petitot, who gave Parma its characteristic style, along with other French artists working in XVIII century at the Bourbon Court.
The Museum thus offers a pleasant mixture of official and private life of a Court from the past centuries, a peculiar feeling much appreciated by visitors.
