Entrance in Via Podiani Circular tower in Via Marconi
The Vibi family, who claimed descent from the Emperor Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus (251-3 AD), built this palace. It stands against a stretch of the city wall that was probably built in the 13th century, when the city began to expand towards what became Porta San Pietro. There was a long-standing tradition that the palace stood on the site of the Roman amphitheatre, and excavations in 1980 unearthed remains (see below) that suggest that this was indeed the case.
The lovely tower at the rear of the palace was overshadowed in ca. 1542 by the fortified corridor that connected Rocca Paolina to its southern bastion, as shown in this detail (to the left) of a panel (19th century) by Giuseppe Rossi in the Galleria Nazionale. The photograph on the right shows the tower and the remnants of the fortress above and to the left of it.
The Vibi family was united by marriage with that of the Arcipreti della Penna in the late 16th century, and the palace seems to have become known as Palazzo della Penna early in the 18th century. Fabrizio della Penna remodelled it in the period 1812-20 following his marriage to Tederlinda Cesarei. He formed a close friendship with the French artist Jean-Baptiste Wicar in the 1820s, and this inspired him to build up the family's already outstanding art collection. Unfortunately, both the palace and its art collection had to be sold in 1874.
The palace has been recently adapted as an art gallery. Much of the exhibition space is below ground level, and a transparent dome in the entrance courtyard allows you to see the spiral staircase made up of circular steps that leads down to it.
Frescoes (1812)
Fabrizio della Penna commissioned frescoes of scenes from the the Myth of Paris from Antonio Castelletti for the rooms of the piano nobile. They commemorate his marriage to Tederlinda Cesarei and include the spouses’ respective initials.
Ground Floor
Works by Gerardo Dottori
The museum hosts the collection of works by the Perugian artist Gerardo Dottori, many of which he gave to the Commune in 1957.
Self Portrait (1928)
Bust of Gerardo Dottori (1968)
First Floor below Ground Level
The excavations here reveal what seem to be part of the Roman amphitheatre and a Roman road.
Martinelli Collection
The Perugian art historian Valentino Martinelli (1923-1999) donated his library and art collection to the city of Perugia on his death. The rooms that formed the library of Palazzo della Penna have been adapted to house them. One of these rooms has been modelled on Martinelli’s study in Rome. The art collection reflects Martinelli’s expertise in the art of Baroque Rome and, in his particular, in the work of Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Room I
This room is primarily dedicated to Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Model of a Lost Soul (ca. 1619)
The copy in Perugia has been painted to look like bronze. It is possible that Bernini made into see how it would translate into this medium.
Christ Bound (1625-30)
Room II
This room is dedicated to Bernini's patrons, including a series of popes.
Medallions of Pope Clement X (17th century
The collection of papal medallions in this room includes two of Pope Clement X (1670-6) that are based on a lost drawing by Bernini:
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✴one in terracotta; and
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✴one in gilded bronze.
Room III
This room is primarily devoted to Bernini’s work in Rome.
Equestrian Figure (ca. 1661)
Portrait of Johann Paul Schor (ca. 1660)
Crucifixes (17th century)
These two small gilded bonze models were designed by Bernini and made by Ercole Ferrata.
Crucifix (17th century)
Room IV
This room is dedicated to the art of Rome in the 17th century.
St Martina’s Vision of the Madonna and Child (ca. 1644)
St Mary Magdalene (17th century)
Portrait of Taddeo Barberini (17th century)
Second Floor below Ground Level
This space is devoted to six diagrams on blackboards that the German artist Joseph Beuys (1921-86) executed during a colloquium with Alberto Burri that was held in 1980 in Rocca Paolina. Beuys used these sketches to illustrate his approach to the theory of art.
