The museum is located in the historic center of Assisi, just a few steps from the Basilica of San Francesco. The palace was a 17th-century residence of the noble Giacobetti family first, and the Vallemani family later. It has housed the Municipal Library, Higher Institutes, and the Properziana Academy of Subasio.
The collection originated at the end of the 19th century with the aim of preserving the city’s artistic heritage, often exposed to the elements. Visitors can therefore observe an “unusual” aspect of Assisi connected to its political and civil evolution, as well as its religious history.
Reopened in 2007 in the 17th-century Palazzo Vallemani, the art gallery gathers paintings dating from the 13th to the 16th century, mostly from public buildings, roadside shrines, city gates, confraternity headquarters, and hospitals. Among the most valuable works is a Maestà attributed to Giotto, originating from the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, a banner by Niccolò di Liberatore called l’Alunno, and the Virgin with Child, detached from Porta San Giacomo, attributed to the young Perugino. Frescoes by Ottaviano Nelli, Andrea and Tiberio d’Assisi, canvases by Dono Doni, Giacomo Giorgetti, and Cesare Sermei are also present. Ample space is dedicated to the Giotto masters: one room hosts works by Puccio Capanna, including the precious Madonna with Child and Saint Francis from Porta San Rufino.
On the ground floor of the palace, there is a multimedia room documenting the history of the city through its urban development.
Inside the art gallery, the Memory exhibition is set up to remember what Assisi did to save the Jews during the years 1943-’44, open until December 31. It is an initiative promoted by the Opera Casa Papa Giovanni directed by the emeritus bishop Monsignor Sergio Goretti, in collaboration with the Municipality of Assisi, the Umbria Region, and the Province of Perugia, with the sponsorship of ISUC, the Italy-Israel Association (Perugia section) and the Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs. The exhibition, conceived and curated by Marina Rosati, with research and texts by Annabella Donà and historical consultancy by Francesco Santucci, collects numerous unpublished documents, photos, and texts relating to the Shoah period; it aims to tell the role played by the citizens of Assisi who, during the German occupation, worked to prevent the deportation of a significant number of Jews. The Memory Museum collects writings, unpublished documents, photos, and texts related to that historical period and especially to the people who took direct action to save about 300 Jews.
Information on Assisi Municipal Art Gallery
Via San Francesco, 12
06081 Assisi (Perugia)
0758155234
edu.assisi@hotmail.it
Source: MIBACT
