A passion that becomes a collection
The inauguration of the Museum of Doll Art in Val di Cornia, in 1998, is the result of Maria Micaelli’s wish to leave her mark in Suvereto, the village she loved.
The venue is a typical building in the centre of Suvereto, purchased and renovated specifically by the town authorities to host the Collection built by Micaelli over thirty years of enthusiastic collecting.
“When I was a young student in Paris, in that unforgettable 1968 – says the collector in the first brochure printed for the museum – my eye fell on three dolls abandoned on the ground at a flea market. From that day on I have never lost the feeling of protection that their small outstretched hands inspired in me. That’s how dolls became part of my adult life. First of all with their silent message of tenderness. Then, with the need to understand the mood that the artist almost always transfers to his creation”.
All made between the 19th and 20th centuries, the dolls tell a story of collections, fashion, costumes and play, and express the behaviour and cultural styles of most of our contemporary history.