In the early twentieth century, Italian professor, author, and art historian Glauco Lombardi began collecting eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historical documents, works of art, and other memorabilia, especially those pertaining to Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Louise, and the Duchy of Parma. The assemblage found its way to a more widespread audience with the museum’s 1934 purchase of a considerable number of objects belonging to Marie Louise. Originally housed in Lombardi’s hometown of Colorno, the collection was moved from the Palazzo Ducale di Colorno to Parma’s Palazzo di Riserva in 1961.
