Description
The Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale is housed in the palace the Medici had built on the Lungarno Pacinotti, in Pisa. Inside are the portraits, furnishings, tapestries and armor of the families who lived there: a visit to court life more than to an art gallery.
The palace was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1583 for Francesco I de' Medici, and incorporates medieval houses and towers of the 11th-12th century. On one side you can still see the Gaetani tower, called the Verga d'Oro or del Cantone; in the courtyard remain an arched portal, small windows and a loggia with historiated capitals.
Among the rooms you will find Medici and Lorraine portraits, among them some by Bronzino and Tempesti, tapestries and furnishings of three dynasties: Medici, Lorraine and Savoy. Don't miss the old armor of the Gioco del Ponte, the contest that divides the city each year on the Ponte di Mezzo.
The museum also holds the Ceci bequest, with Flemish and Italian paintings of the 16th-18th century, antique furniture and Italian and English ceramics, a plaster cast gallery and the paintings of Italo Griselli, a portrait sculptor of the early 20th century.
From a tower of this palace, the story goes, Galileo showed the heavens to the grand dukes with his telescope: the medieval tower, called the Vergadoro, was spared in the construction. It is only a tradition, but it gives an idea of the place.
The Medici court gathered here above all in winter, and guests included Galileo and the scientist Francesco Redi, who died here on March 1, 1697.
After the Medici came the Lorraine, then the Savoy, who gave it the name "Reale". In 1919 the palace passed to the State, and since 1989 it has housed the museum, which also organizes temporary exhibitions. Francesco I wanted it in place of the old Medici palace near the church and convent of San Matteo.
The palace was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti in 1583 for Francesco I de' Medici, and incorporates medieval houses and towers of the 11th-12th century. On one side you can still see the Gaetani tower, called the Verga d'Oro or del Cantone; in the courtyard remain an arched portal, small windows and a loggia with historiated capitals.
Among the rooms you will find Medici and Lorraine portraits, among them some by Bronzino and Tempesti, tapestries and furnishings of three dynasties: Medici, Lorraine and Savoy. Don't miss the old armor of the Gioco del Ponte, the contest that divides the city each year on the Ponte di Mezzo.
The museum also holds the Ceci bequest, with Flemish and Italian paintings of the 16th-18th century, antique furniture and Italian and English ceramics, a plaster cast gallery and the paintings of Italo Griselli, a portrait sculptor of the early 20th century.
From a tower of this palace, the story goes, Galileo showed the heavens to the grand dukes with his telescope: the medieval tower, called the Vergadoro, was spared in the construction. It is only a tradition, but it gives an idea of the place.
The Medici court gathered here above all in winter, and guests included Galileo and the scientist Francesco Redi, who died here on March 1, 1697.
After the Medici came the Lorraine, then the Savoy, who gave it the name "Reale". In 1919 the palace passed to the State, and since 1989 it has housed the museum, which also organizes temporary exhibitions. Francesco I wanted it in place of the old Medici palace near the church and convent of San Matteo.