The Medardo Rosso Museum was founded by the sculptor son, who, when his father died in 1928, decided to gather all of the extant sculptures in the Paris and Milan studios. The small 17th century church building, then deconsecrated, was chosen because of Francesco's desire to preserve his father's works in Barzio his and his mother's beloved holiday retreat. In that place he also built his own house. The Museum is a very private, almost intimate environment that allows Rosso's sculptures to express the universal message of his art. Art should not just be used to embellish architecture, nor should it be made only to please the eye: these are some thoughts that Medardo Rosso shared with one of his friends, even if today indeed we find it pleasing to admire his portraits of children and smiling women. Medardo's sculpture is immaterial, and its atmospheres convey human feelings and the recesses of the human soul. The wax, plaster and bronze are handled with great mastery and skill, and because of the colored patinas the different media are not distinguishable from each other any longer. The mass dissolves to make room for an emotion-filled vision: the universe is not eternal and art represents the impermanence and poverty of all things. Medardo Rosso was conscious of the exceptional value of his work, of how difficult it was for his contemporaries to fully understand it, and of the influence he would have on the art of the 20th century. All of his life was characterized by a struggle to give exposure to his ideas, a struggle that he always fought alone without any affiliation to artistic groups, since his personality was too compelling and overwhelming.