The construction of the prestigious architectural complex, residence of the noble Ferretti family and home of the Museum since 1958, dates back to the mid-16th century. The exterior facade is attributed to Antonio da San Gallo the Younger, a civil and military architect active in Ancona in the 1540s.
The decoration of the main floor, commissioned by Count Angelo di Girolamo Ferretti, was carried out by the Mannerist painter Pellegrino Tibaldi and assistants shortly after 1560; elaborate wooden ceilings were created, and the walls of the main hall and several adjoining rooms were frescoed: the emblem room, the myth room, and the labyrinth room. The 3rd floor features frescoed ceilings with grotesques, fantastic landscapes, monsters, mythological figures, and mascarons in the late 16th-century Roman style (Federico Zuccari, Luzio Luzi?).
In 1759 the original building was renovated, probably based on a design by Luigi Vanvitelli, with the expansion of the facade, construction of the balcony, main portal, grand staircase, and the hanging terrace with a portico and loggias above. This expansion was enriched with statues and busts, probably from the Ancona workshop of Gioacchino Varlè (1731-1806). Also from the 18th century are the exquisitely frescoed grotesque vaults of some salons on the 3rd floor.
The palace has undergone several restoration works: from 1928-1931 commissioned by the Ferretti family who entrusted the work to the Milanese architect Tornaghi; in the early 1950s following the air raids; and finally in the 1970s-80s, after the 1972 Ancona earthquake.
Information on the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche
Via Ferretti, 6
60121 Ancona (Ancona)
071202602
sar-mar.museoancona@beniculturali.it
https://www.archeomarche.beniculturali.it/
8:30 AM – 7:30 PM Free admission on the 1st Sunday of the month
€ 4.00
Source: MIBACT
