Museo Statale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna

The State Museum of Medieval and Modern Art in Arezzo occupies Palazzo Bruni Ciocchi, a Renaissance palace arranged around a porticoed courtyard. Its collections trace local painting and sculpture from the early Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.

Why it matters

The museum brings together works from Arezzo's municipal picture gallery, the Fraternita dei Laici, suppressed religious institutions and private collections. Across twenty rooms, it presents the Aretine school within a broader history of Italian art.

What to notice

Thirteenth-century gold-ground panels by Margarito d'Arezzo introduce the local tradition. Later rooms include works by Spinello Aretino, Pietro Lorenzetti, Luca Signorelli and Giorgio Vasari, followed by paintings of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, including works by Giovanni Fattori and Telemaco Signorini. Renaissance maiolica is a strength of the collection, alongside an altarpiece by Andrea della Robbia. Medieval sculptures once displayed at the city gates include a Saint Michael and a Madonna and Child.

Context and history

Palazzo Bruni Ciocchi was built in the mid-fifteenth century for Donato Bruni, son of the humanist Leonardo Bruni. Its courtyard is attributed to Bernardo Rossellino, and the building rises around three floors with a hanging garden. The museum's holdings also include the collection of the Fraternita dei Laici, founded in 1262, and later gifts from the Fossombroni, Funghini and Salmi collections.