Museo del Centro Studi Americanistici “Circolo Amerindiano”

The ethnographic collection of the Centro Studi Americanistici “Circolo Amerindiano” was officially created in 1991, when the decision was taken to bring together in a single space the ethnographic objects assembled by members of the Centro Studi over the course of their travels in the Americas. Over time, the initial nucleus of objects was enriched by a substantial corpus coming from the Andean, Amazonian, and Venezuelan tropical areas, thanks above all to the archaeologist Mario Polia (Andean area), the ethnologists Gerardo Bamonte and Miguel Angel Menéndez (Amazon, Chaco, Huave), and the architects Leszek Zawisza and Chiara Cipiciani (Venezuela).

In 2002 this material heritage was further enriched through the acquisition of the Borruso and Bamonte collections, both purchases financed with funds from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia. On 19 November 2004 the new premises in Via Guardabassi were inaugurated, and here the Collection was set up in its present form. With the acquisition of these two collections it became clear that the spaces were no longer sufficient to house the heritage appropriately, prompting the Municipality of Perugia to provide new, larger, and more suitable premises, which were inaugurated on 10 November 2023 in Via Fratti 14–20, Perugia.