Pinacoteca comunale

Municipal Art Gallery - Palazzo Vallemani The Pinacoteca Comunale is located in the historical center of Assisi, at a short walking distance from the Basilica of San Francesco. It is housed in Palazzo Vallemani, the 17th century residence that was initially the property of the Giacobetti noble family and later of the Vallemani. The palace has hosted the Municipal Library, some Cultural Institutions and the Accademia Properziana del Subasio. The collection was started at the end of the 19th century with the aim of preserving the town’s artistic heritage, in many cases placed outside and exposed to the weather. The visitor can therefore observe an “unusual” aspect of Assisi, tied to its religious, political and civil evolution. Rearranged in 2007 inside Palazzo Vallemani, a 17th century palace, the Art Gallery collects paintings from the 13th to the 16th centuries, the majority of them coming from public buildings, various aedicule, public gates—town entrances—brotherhood residences and hospices. Among the finest works there is the Majesty—attributed to Giotto—coming from the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo; a Gonfalon, a processional banner of Niccolò di Liberatore, called Alunno; and The Virgin with Child, which was detached from the gate of Porta San Giacomo—attributed to a young Perugino. There are also paintings of Ottaviano Nelli, Andrea and Tiberio d’Assisi, paintings on canvases of Dono Doni, Giacomo Giorgetti and Cesare Sermei. A large space is dedicated to the Masters, followers of Giotto: one room is dedicated to the works of Puccio Capanna, among them there is the fine Madonna with Child and St Francis coming from the gate Porta San Rufino. A room on the ground floor of the Gallery is dedicated to Multimedia instruments documenting the history of Assisi through its urban evolution. The Gallery also hosts a Memorial Exhibition: Museo della Memoria Assisi 1943-1944, to honor the action taken by the town of Assisi during World War II events –1943 and 1944—to save Jewish people, the display will last until 31st December. The initiative is held by the will of the Opera Casa Papa Giovanni, under the guidance of Monsignor Sergio Goretti, in collaboration with the local municipality, the Comune di Assisi, the regional institutions of La Regione Umbria and the provincial La Provincia di Perugia, it is also under the patronage of the ISUC—Istituto per la Storia dell’Umbria Contemporanea—and the Italy-Israel Association (Perugian section) together with the Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs. The Exhibition, conceived by and under the care of Marina Rosati—and whose texts are under the care of Annabella Donà with the collaboration of the Historian Francesco Santucci—collects numerous unpublished documents, photos and texts related to the period of the Shoah. The purpose of the Exhibition is to recount the role played by the population of Assisi that—during the German occupation—gave their help to avoid the deportation of a substantial number of Jewish people. The Memorial Museum collects writings, unpublished documents and photos related to that historical period and above all to the protagonists, who were directly involved in saving approximately 300 Jewish people.