The museum is located on via Podiani, in the historic center of Perugia, a short distance from the Tre Archi crossroads and the imposing southern bastion of the Rocca Paolina.
The palace, an ancient noble residence from the sixteenth century of the della Penna family, is built with sober volumes on centuries-old architectural stratifications that tell the complex urban evolution of the area, from the Etruscan-Roman era to recent years.
On the remains of an amphitheater and an ancient Roman road, medieval constructions, walls, and late Renaissance accretions have overlapped over time, culminating in a Neoclassical aesthetic renovation, updated by an intervention carried out at the end of the 1970s, aimed at making the building compatible with its new purpose as a cultural palace and city museum.
The vocation of Palazzo della Penna to become the city museum and cultural palace has become more concrete especially in recent years, supported by an uninterrupted series of exhibitions and cultural activities that accompany the permanent setup of four different collections whose ensemble outlines a fascinating and complex visit route ranging from the Baroque to the twentieth century.
The exhibition route comprises three different sections. The first, hosted in the beautiful salons frescoed in 1812 by Antonio Castelletti, is dedicated to Gerardo Dottori (1884-1977), the Futurist painter who joined the Marinetti movement in 1912 and who was a central figure in the creation of the aeropainting movement. Descending the beautiful staircase, designed by architect Franco Minissi, you reach the first basement floor, where after passing the remains of the Roman amphitheater, you enter the frescoed salons that house the Valentino Martinelli Collection, with works of Roman Baroque, including the papier-mâché of the Damned Soul and Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Bound Christ. On the second basement floor are the six Slates created by Joseph Beuys to illustrate his theories, on the occasion of a public meeting with Alberto Burri held on April 3 at the Rocca Paolina of Perugia.
Information about Palazzo della Penna Museum
Via Podiani, 11
06121 Perugia (Perugia)
0755716233
info.cultura@comune.perugia.it
https://www.comune.perugia.it
Source: MIBACT
