Description
Palazzo Fabroni is Pistoia's museum of contemporary art, in a noble palace opposite the parish church of Sant'Andrea. It has a permanent collection born from the donations of the artists who have exhibited here, from Arte Povera to Minimal Art, and hosts exhibitions. The rooms are those of a real noble house, not of a purpose-built museum.
The visit begins on the first floor, around the great double-height hall where Claudio Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra (Shadow Sculpture) dominates the walls. The first rooms are devoted to three Pistoians, Mario Nigro, Gualtiero Nativi and Agenore Fabbri, active in Abstraction and Informal art.
One room is entirely for Fernando Melani, a Pistoian artist who traveled nearly every road of abstraction, from Surrealism to Arte Povera: here are his largest works and some projects that could not fit in his home-studio on Corso Gramsci.
Next come the works donated to the municipality by artists who have held a show here since 1990: a journey from Arte Povera to Conceptual art, from Minimal Art to Visual Poetry, among names like Jannis Kounellis, Enrico Castellani, Luciano Fabro and Daniel Spoerri.
A first-floor room is devoted to the portraits of artists by the photographer Aurelio Amendola, donated in 2011: Burri, De Chirico, Marini, Warhol. The visit closes with Mario Carnicelli's photos of Palmiro Togliatti's funeral in 1964 and with an installation by Federico Gori conceived for the room.
The building has a long past. In 1353 it is mentioned as a "palagio"; bought in those years by the Dondori, it looked like a tower-house, and the family lived there for almost three centuries. In 1620 it passed to the heirs of the Fabroni, who renovated it from top to bottom.
At the back a continuous portico opens onto the garden, giving the town house the breath of a country villa.
On the curved facade, in Florentine Mannerist style, the three orders of windows have different pediments, and above the main door is the family coat of arms with three hammers. The Fabroni lived here until the early 19th century; then it went to the last one's son-in-law, the Marchese Mazzarosa, and in 1861 his daughters sold it to the municipality.
It was the seat of the sub-prefecture, from 1928 to 1945 of the Fascist federation and then, for some twenty years, of a middle school. After a long restoration, since 1990 it has become the center for contemporary visual arts.
Don't miss
• Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra.
• Fernando Melani's room.
• Amendola's portraits.
• The portico on the garden.
Did you know?
• The runner that now connects the second floor above the hall shows parts of walls and terracotta windows, perhaps from the old palagio.
• The great central hall was created only in the late 19th century.
The visit begins on the first floor, around the great double-height hall where Claudio Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra (Shadow Sculpture) dominates the walls. The first rooms are devoted to three Pistoians, Mario Nigro, Gualtiero Nativi and Agenore Fabbri, active in Abstraction and Informal art.
One room is entirely for Fernando Melani, a Pistoian artist who traveled nearly every road of abstraction, from Surrealism to Arte Povera: here are his largest works and some projects that could not fit in his home-studio on Corso Gramsci.
Next come the works donated to the municipality by artists who have held a show here since 1990: a journey from Arte Povera to Conceptual art, from Minimal Art to Visual Poetry, among names like Jannis Kounellis, Enrico Castellani, Luciano Fabro and Daniel Spoerri.
A first-floor room is devoted to the portraits of artists by the photographer Aurelio Amendola, donated in 2011: Burri, De Chirico, Marini, Warhol. The visit closes with Mario Carnicelli's photos of Palmiro Togliatti's funeral in 1964 and with an installation by Federico Gori conceived for the room.
The building has a long past. In 1353 it is mentioned as a "palagio"; bought in those years by the Dondori, it looked like a tower-house, and the family lived there for almost three centuries. In 1620 it passed to the heirs of the Fabroni, who renovated it from top to bottom.
At the back a continuous portico opens onto the garden, giving the town house the breath of a country villa.
On the curved facade, in Florentine Mannerist style, the three orders of windows have different pediments, and above the main door is the family coat of arms with three hammers. The Fabroni lived here until the early 19th century; then it went to the last one's son-in-law, the Marchese Mazzarosa, and in 1861 his daughters sold it to the municipality.
It was the seat of the sub-prefecture, from 1928 to 1945 of the Fascist federation and then, for some twenty years, of a middle school. After a long restoration, since 1990 it has become the center for contemporary visual arts.
Don't miss
• Parmiggiani's Scultura d'ombra.
• Fernando Melani's room.
• Amendola's portraits.
• The portico on the garden.
Did you know?
• The runner that now connects the second floor above the hall shows parts of walls and terracotta windows, perhaps from the old palagio.
• The great central hall was created only in the late 19th century.