Casa Console

Antonio Semadeni had worked as a Swiss consul in Warsaw and so the people of Poschiavo simply called his residence in the centre of the village of Poschiavo Casa Console, a name that the Museum of Fine Arts has preserved.

The interior of the building shows its original state in its structure, especially the partially gilded ceiling stucco and some examples of Venetian stucco lucido. The façade facing the main street of the village centre is also in the elegant style of the 19th century; on a small balcony on the first floor there is now a bronze statue by the French sculptor Ernest Barrias. It shows the young Mozart tuning his violin.

Behind the Casa Console and its cultural offerings is the Ernesto Conrad Foundation, which was founded in 2002. The founder's aim was to provide a suitable exhibition framework for his collection of paintings, mainly works by German painters of the Romantic period - including the largest private collection of works by Carl Spitzweg.

Ernesto Conrad first acquired the noble Poschiavo patrician house from the second half of the 19th century and then had it restored with great care.

In addition to exhibiting the museum's artworks, the foundation's tasks also include cultural mediation. It organizes many different events that take place throughout the year.