Things to see and do Mendrisio

In an unusual location, a former pasta factory, lies a museum like no other. Model train enthusiasts will be in for a treat: miniature trains, fully digitally controlled models, electric trains and the latest from the manufacturers. Over a surface area of 2,320^m2 and three floors, the equivalent of 2,500 m of track is on display, featuring 3,000 models from the GB collection and numerous private collections. From Napoleonic trains to military armor, model railroading is the main focus of the museum. Well organized and warmly welcomed.

Housed in the magnificent setting of the former Servite convent, the museum has a permanent collection of 400 art objects, but it is the temporary exhibitions that are most interesting. The Art Museum offers exhibitions of renowned artists. In recent years, these have been devoted to Klee, Braque, Giacometti, Wotruba and other great local artists. The museum's highlights are the 650 transparencies executed at the end of the 18th century and the collection of works illustrating local life from the 16th to the 20th century.

The complex includes a medieval chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, more precisely to Santa Maria delle Grazie, the convent itself and finally the church of San Giovanni. Of the original convent built in 1477, only the altarpiece remains. In the altar area, you will notice a fresco dating from the 14th century attributed to the group of Giovanni da Milano. Finally, the single nave church is a significant example of the late Baroque. It contains a multitude of sculptures and stucco reliefs as well as numerous frescoes by local artists.

Built from 1723 to 1738, to plans by architect Giovan Pietro Magni, the church boasts numerous works of art: fine^18th-century stucco by Francesco Catenazzi and Giovanni Battista Bagutti; the four paintings by Giovanni Battista Bagutti (1744) in the vault are richly colored. In 1994, the church was restored to its original beauty. It also boasts a beautiful ^16th-century cloister.