La collection is almost entirely made up of weapons collected by Marquis Raffaello Albicini and donated to the city by his son Livio at the beginning of the 20th century. Initially located in the Palazzo della Missione, the Armory was moved in 1922 to Palazzo Merenda where it still preserves almost intact the original arrangement. The display, in three large rooms on the noble floor decorated with the heraldic emblems of the main families of Forlì, with the arrangement of weapons ‘as trophies’ and the parade of pole weapons restitutes the vaguely neo-Gothic taste of the collector. Over seven hundred specimens of weapons from the 15th century to the second half of the 19th century are on display. These range from pole weapons (falchions, partisan poles, billhooks, corsesche, halberds, breaching quads, lances, as well as a brandistock with retractable blades) to suits of armor (some of which are of very high historical value, such as the tournament armor belonging to Bruno Zampeschi, lord of Forlì in the late 1500s). The collection of swords and rapiers is particularly rich. Among the seventeen arquebuses is the 16th-century Sforza Pallavicino, with a stock decorated with a finely pierced iron plate, featuring scroll motifs and satyr figures. Among the short firearms, there is a pistol by the “Master of animal head vine scrolls” (c. 1620) and an “Acquafresca” pistol (c. 1695). Attached to the Albicini Armory is a collection of various weapons from the Congo, donated by Virginia Pedriali to the city of Forlì.
Information about Albicini Armory
Corso della Repubblica, 72,
47121 Forlì (Forlì-Cesena)
0543712606
servizio.pinacoteca.musei@cofo.it
https://www.cultura.comune.forli.fo.it
Source: MIBACT
