Palazzi dell'Arte Rimini

Palazzi dell'Arte Rimini (PART) presents modern and contemporary art in two of the city's oldest civic buildings: the thirteenth-century Palazzo dell'Arengo and the fourteenth-century Palazzo del Podestà. A sculpture garden extends the cultural complex behind the palaces.

Why it matters

The museum brings contemporary art into a setting shaped by Rimini's medieval civic life. A restoration campaign returned the palaces toward their earlier forms, making the buildings' architectural history part of the experience of the art. The complex reconnects these historic civic rooms with the public life of Piazza Cavour.

What to notice

The Palazzo dell'Arengo's porticoes lead toward the Salone dell'Arengo, where the medieval commune's General Council met. Inscribed plaques record the building's commission in 1204 under the Bolognese podestà Madio de' Carbonesi. The adjoining Palazzo del Podestà has three pointed Gothic arches across its façade; a rope was once hung from the central arch as a sign of justice. Behind the palaces, the Giardino delle Sculture carries the contemporary programme outdoors.

Context and history

The Palazzo dell'Arengo was built in 1204 and the Palazzo del Podestà in the first half of the fourteenth century. The Arengo served as a council hall and, from the late seventeenth century until 1857, as the city's theatre. The Podestà underwent major restoration after the First World War. PART joined the two palaces in a single civic museum complex, presenting modern and contemporary art within buildings that once housed Rimini's government.