Museo nazionale di Palazzo Mansi
Museum-residence in a Baroque noble palace in Lucca, with frescoed rooms, Flemish tapestries, the picture gallery and textile collections.
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About the museum
The Museo nazionale di Palazzo Mansi occupies one of the most important noble palaces in Lucca. Between 1641 and 1691 the residence of the marquises Mansi di San Pellegrino, born from the union of existing tower houses, was transformed into a representative palace. The most important renovation took place between 1686 and 1691 to a design by Raffaello Mazzanti, on the occasion of the marriage of Carlo Mansi and Eleonora Pepoli. The piano nobile was decorated in the Baroque taste: the Salone della Musica was frescoed by Giovan Gioseffo Dal Sole with the quadratura painter Marcantonio Chiarini. The Mansi, a family of silk merchants, left in the Sala dell'Alcova ample evidence of their wealth. At the end of the 18th century Luigi Mansi commissioned the Galleria degli specchi, to a design by Stefano Tofanelli.
The building has been state property since 1965 and was opened to the public as a state museum in 1977. On the piano nobile visitors can see the state apartment, with the cycle of Flemish tapestries depicting the story of Aurelian and Zenobia, woven in Brussels in 1665 by Geraert Peemans, and the picture gallery, which was once in the Palazzo Ducale and was inaugurated in 1853 at the wish of Leopold II. In four rooms are displayed paintings by Italian and foreign schools from the 16th to the 18th century, with names such as Pontormo, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Veronese and Paul Brill.
On the second floor are the sections on 19th-century Lucchese art, with portraits of the rulers of Lucca from the time of Elisa Baciocchi and court dress of the First Empire, and the textile collections with vestments, hangings and fragments of Coptic art; the mezzanine displays 20th-century Lucchese art.
Highlights
- Salone della Musica frescoed by Giovan Gioseffo Dal Sole
- Sala dell'Alcova with the canopy bed
- Flemish tapestries with the story of Aurelian and Zenobia, Brussels 1665
- Picture gallery with Pontormo, Bronzino, Tintoretto and Veronese
- Textile collections and court dress of the First Empire
Permanent exhibitions
- Appartamenti del piano nobile e pinacoteca – Frescoed rooms, period furniture, the cycle of Flemish tapestries with the story of Aurelian and Zenobia, and the picture gallery with paintings from the 16th to the 18th century.
- Ottocento e Novecento lucchese e collezioni tessili – On the second floor, paintings and sculptures of 19th-century Lucchese art, portraits of the rulers of Lucca, and textiles, garments and Coptic fragments; on the mezzanine, Lucchese art of the 20th century.
- Founded
- 1977
- Operated by
- Ministero della Cultura – Musei nazionali di Lucca
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €6 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2 |
Reductions and free admission follow the rules for state museums.
Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
Service indicated by the museum: guides and catalogues.
Events & venue rental
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