African Museum

The theologian John Mbiti writes: “In Africa I am because we are”. Meaning that only the sense of belonging to a concrete community gives to the individual the elements necessary to define his/her full identity.

Feeling part of the eternal cosmic cycle of life, within which one spends one’s entire existence, life in Africa is under stood as a journey which – marked by specific steps (celebrated by “rites of passage”) – ends up in returning to that “world of the ances- tors and of the spirits” to which everyone  is destined.
This explains the reason why in all African cultures the themes of life, fertility, physical and mental health, human relationships and others have great importance and are celebrated in various ways.

This also explains the significance of the didactic and ethnographic journey followed by the  African Museum of the Comboni Missionaries, renewed in its content and topics described by the traditional artefacts and traditional handmade objects displayed in the windows; by monothematic exhibitions and by the photos and video-clips constantly running on the large and smaller screens set up inside the museum’s halls.

Students have also the chance to learn and to develop skills by participating in didactic laboratories  organised for them in collaboration with PM - Il Piccolo Missionario, the magazine for children.

The African Museum has a threefold aim: to help visitors to meet, to know and to love Africa, that continent far away as well as the one present among us today in Italy. It is the hope and the desire of the curators of the Museum that the great richness of African cultures here expressed may be perceived and appreciated by all those who choose to visit the permanent exhibition.

FAQ

Who created the African Museum?
The African Ma-Museum was born of an intuition of the Bishop Francesco Sogaro, the first successor of Saint Daniele Comboni.

Historically, for what purpose was the Museum established?
Initially the initiative had a purely missionary character: to offer a showcase of the activities of the Comboni missionaries in Africa.

Is it possible to learn more about the African culture?
Inside the museum there is also the library of Nigrizia which has about 20,000 volumes, useful for ethno-anthropological studies on Africa.

Is the monument accessible to people with disabilities?
The museum is completely accessible.

Is it possible to access to the monument with animals?
It is not possible to enter the monument with animals, except in cases of guide dogs with muzzle accompanying a disable guest.