A must for those visiting Tuscany, the Museum of Palazzo Pretorio in Prato offers an exhibition itinerary full of masterpieces that traces the history and art of Prato from the fourteenth to the twentieth century.
Since the end of the thirteenth century, Palazzo Pretorio has been a silent witness to the city’s political, civil and military life, austerely overlooking the Piazza del Comune. Its appearance testifies its long and troubled history: built in 1284, originally it was the seat of the court, the prisons and the Foreign Judiciary; in the 18th century, it became the seat of the administrative offices of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, until the mid-19th century. In 1912, it became the home of the Civic Museum; the last restoration began in 1998, and ended with the reopening of the museum in 2014.
On the ground floor are some of the most symbolic objects of the Palazzo’s past, and large rooms dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The visitor can enjoy influential and renowned works of art, including masterpieces by Bernardo Daddi, Giovanni da Milano, Lorenzo Monaco, Filippo and Filippino Lippi, Poppi, Alessandro Allori, Santi di Tito, Battistello Caracciolo, Cecco Bravo, Lorenzo Bartolini, Jacques Lipchitz, Yves Klein and Michelangelo Pistoletto, all alongside one another in the large halls. The interior decoration is particularly interesting.
The visit to the museum is completed by the most recent acquisitions of the museum: on the first floor, the room "From the Storage to the Museum: paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries", with a precious collection of Holy Families and Madonnas with Child from the sixteenth century, and, on the ground floor, the “Prato before its foundation” section, which displays some significant archaeological finds, from prehistory to the late ancient age, coming from the territory and from nearby Gonfienti; the visit to the new exhibition is complemented by a documentary on the development of the Prato area, from the Paleolithic to the foundation of the first nucleus of the current city of Prato. Finally, the visit itinerary is enriched by a new display case with memorabilia belonging to the former Risorgimento Museum.
Relevant information and communication devices can be found throughout the museum: helpful multimedia tools and large video projections tell the history of Palazzo Pretorio and of the ‘Holy Girdle’, with the virtual reconstruction of the frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi which adorn the cathedral.
A renovated museum, that captures the soul and embodies the history of Prato.
Since the end of the thirteenth century, Palazzo Pretorio has been a silent witness to the city’s political, civil and military life, austerely overlooking the Piazza del Comune. Its appearance testifies its long and troubled history: built in 1284, originally it was the seat of the court, the prisons and the Foreign Judiciary; in the 18th century, it became the seat of the administrative offices of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, until the mid-19th century. In 1912, it became the home of the Civic Museum; the last restoration began in 1998, and ended with the reopening of the museum in 2014.
On the ground floor are some of the most symbolic objects of the Palazzo’s past, and large rooms dedicated to temporary exhibitions. The visitor can enjoy influential and renowned works of art, including masterpieces by Bernardo Daddi, Giovanni da Milano, Lorenzo Monaco, Filippo and Filippino Lippi, Poppi, Alessandro Allori, Santi di Tito, Battistello Caracciolo, Cecco Bravo, Lorenzo Bartolini, Jacques Lipchitz, Yves Klein and Michelangelo Pistoletto, all alongside one another in the large halls. The interior decoration is particularly interesting.
The visit to the museum is completed by the most recent acquisitions of the museum: on the first floor, the room "From the Storage to the Museum: paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries", with a precious collection of Holy Families and Madonnas with Child from the sixteenth century, and, on the ground floor, the “Prato before its foundation” section, which displays some significant archaeological finds, from prehistory to the late ancient age, coming from the territory and from nearby Gonfienti; the visit to the new exhibition is complemented by a documentary on the development of the Prato area, from the Paleolithic to the foundation of the first nucleus of the current city of Prato. Finally, the visit itinerary is enriched by a new display case with memorabilia belonging to the former Risorgimento Museum.
Relevant information and communication devices can be found throughout the museum: helpful multimedia tools and large video projections tell the history of Palazzo Pretorio and of the ‘Holy Girdle’, with the virtual reconstruction of the frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi which adorn the cathedral.
A renovated museum, that captures the soul and embodies the history of Prato.
Information:
Address:
Piazza del Comune, 59100 - Prato, PO
Phone:
+39 0574 1837859
Access notes:
Access for disabled:
The main entrance to the Museum is accessible to disabled people. The disabled people can use the free service of the loan of wheelchairs. The opening of the entrance doors is done manually.The Museum is equipped with an elevator, with Braille numbering on the internal and external buttons. On the ground floor there is an interactive multimedia model which reconstructs the Praetorian Palace in three-dimensional scale, and which allows tactile exploration of the building, promoting readability for visitors with reduced visual abilities, thanks to audio that can be activated with a touch on the corresponding points equipped with sensor. A space in the museum has been dedicated to tactile reproductions of some works that are part of the permanent collection; the tactile path is under further development, other installations are planned soon.
Access to the Museum is for free for disabled people and their companion.
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