Palazzo Trinci
The Trinci Palace is a
. It houses an archaeological museum, the city's picture gallery, a multimedia museum of Tournaments and Jousts and the Civic Museum.History
Palazzo Trinci was the residence of the Trinci family who ruled over the city from 1305 to 1439. The palace was built (attested by archival documents) over a medieval building by Ugolino III Trinci between 1389 and 1407. An adapted Roman burial stele states the date 1407, which may be the actual year the construction started. It was completed in 1411.
After the defeat and death of
The building underwent serious damage by the earthquakes of 1831-1832 and minor damages by the bombing of Foligno in 1944 and the earthquake of 1985.
Description
The present inconspicuous Neoclassical façade dates only from 1842 to 1847. It was built by Vincenzo Vitali on a draft of Odoardo Poggi, amended by Sigismondo Ferretti.
The arcaded inner courtyard reflects the problems the architects faced when they wanted to save as much as possible from the pre-existing structure. They created a transition from the
All frescoes in the palace, except those of the chapel, were commissioned by
The
The small chapel is entirely decorated with frescoes (1421- February 1424) by Ottaviano Nelli, describing in sixteen scenes the life of the Virgin : Anna and Joachim in the Temple, annunciation to Joachim and Anna, meeting at the Porta Aurea, birth of Mary, marriage to Joseph, Annunciation, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, presentation of Jesus in the Temple, announcement of the death of Mary, arrival of the apostles, death of Mary, funeral and Assumption. The fresco of the Crucifixion above the altar shows also the archbishop Jacobus de Voragine with his book the Golden Legend in his hand. This fresco is flanked by frescoes of three saints (one of them is the blessed Paoluccio Trinci, who died in September 1390) and St. Francis, receiving the Stigmata. Many of these palace chapels were dedicated to Mary in the 13th to the 15th centuries. These frescoes were commissioned by Corrado III Trinci who resumed the policy of his father as a patron of the Arts. These religious frescoes are a rare set that show at the same time a humanistic and profane iconography.
The Hall of Liberal Arts and of the Planets (or Hall of Stars) takes its name because its frescoes represent the
The impressive frescoes in the Hall of the Emperors or the Hall of the Giants represent the leaders, heroes and emperors of Ancient Rome, sumptuously dressed in Renaissance clothes. The practice of decorating palace walls with a series of famous men was widely known during the Middle Ages and lasted well into the 16th century. These paintings were meant to enhance the glory and the importance of the owner of the palace. These frescoes, executed in
The concept of these frescoes came from the humanist Francesco da Fiano (1350 ca.-1421), who was inspired by the model of ancient biographies of famous men (De viris illustribus) by Petrarch, used in the decoration (today lost) in the great hall of the palace of the Carrara (Loggia dei Carraresi) in Padua.[2]
Some archaeological artifacts are also on exhibition in this room, most notably a marble slab showing a quadriga race in the Circus Maximus, Rome.
The Hall of
The walls of the corridor, linking the palace with the cathedral of San Feliciano, is frescoed with the Heroes of Ancient Times (Ciclo dei Prodi). These frescoes represent heroes from Roman times (Romulus, Scipio Africanus) and nine heroes from French medieval tradition, the
Notes
References
- "History of the Trinci Palace (in Italian)". Comune di Foligno. 2008. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- Valle Umbria : History, art, culture and tradition; published by Servizio Turistico Associato, Foligno; seventh edition, 2006
- Valle Umbria : Musées, théâtres, bibliothèques (in French); published by the Servizio Turistico Associato, Foligno.
- John E. Law (April 2008). "Il Palazzo Trinci di Foligno". Renaissance Studies. 22 (2): 282–284. .
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