The building that houses the Canonica Museum once belonged to the Comune of Rome. It was renovated by the sculptor Pietro Canonica who promised to donate his work to the city. The museum opened in the mid 20th Century and displays models, sketches, studies and other of the artist’s works. When Canonica’s wife died the house was also opened to the public exhibiting Piedmontese paintings of the 19th Century as well as other objects and furnishings.