Museo Civico di Montepulciano (Palazzo Neri Orselli)

The Civic Museum of Montepulciano occupies Palazzo Neri Orselli, a fourteenth-century palace with four levels arranged around a courtyard. Its collections include Etruscan and Roman finds, sculpture, terracottas and paintings from the Crociani collection.

Why it matters

The museum combines archaeology and art from Montepulciano and its surrounding area. Its painting gallery grew from Francesco Crociani’s 1859 bequest, while archaeological finds document the region’s Etruscan and Roman past.

What to notice

Highlights include the bronze Marzocco in the brick-vaulted lapidarium, Etruscan cinerary urns, glazed terracottas associated with the della Robbia workshop and paintings from the Crociani gallery. A portrait of a young man has been attributed to Caravaggio by scholar Massimo Pulini; the attribution remains just that, an attribution.

Context and history

Palazzo Neri Orselli preserves elements of Sienese civic architecture. The museum has occupied the palace since the mid-1950s. Its rooms include the Crociani picture gallery and sections devoted to archaeology and the history of Montepulciano.