Fondazione Marini Clarelli Santi, Perugia
The Fondazione Marini Clarelli Santi is an ancient building, situated in Perugia. The house museum itself is an exhibit that transfers visitors to distant times with carved exquisite armchairs and large expensive chandeliers. However, it is valuable not only with the atmosphere. The museum is rich in collections of paintings, engravings, old books, manuscripts, postcards. You will be able not only to get acquainted with the variety of art objects, but also study the history of Perugia, and even whole Italy, through the eyes of one family.
Collections of the museum
The Marini Clarrelli Santi Foundation preserves both art objects and things that represent the atmosphere and fashion of the past centuries. In the house-museum you can observe:
- Art collection. It is a collection of many paintings and engravings, acquired at different times by representatives of the Marini Clarelli family. Here you can see the works of Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia, Gian Domenico Cerrini, Bernardino Gagliardi.
- Drawings – the collection has more than 1000 copies, dating from 17-20 centuries. There are drawings of monuments, architectural structures, saints, genealogical trees. Also here you will find maps, family portraits, reproductions of famous works.
- Collections of postcards and stamps – more than 5000 illustrated postcards, both Italian and foreign. Particular attention is drawn to a collection of 99 images with scenes from the Divine Comedy. Also you can see the stamps from different corners of the world.
- Furniture – the palace preserves the interior items that were present in the house during the 19th century: tables, chairs, mirrors, chandeliers. On many exhibits you can find a family coat of arms, which depicts a lion.
- Library – it stores more than 5000 books, published from 16 to 20 century. Among other things, you can find editions of Italian and foreign classics, guides, books on the history of Italy and the history of art, legal aids. A manuscript of scientific work on ornithology, published in 1601, is very impressive. The archive contains family documentation, letters, photographs, postcards from the 15th century until 1994.
History of the museum
The foundation was created in 2008 due to the testament of Barbara Marini Clarelli – a representative of an ancient and distinguished Italian family. According to her order, all of the collections of paintings, furniture, books preserved in the palace, which had served as the home for Barbara and her ancestors, and that now perform the functions of the museum, are transferred to the fund. The Foundation is called upon to protect and develop the culture and art of Italy.
As for the building itself, it was created in the 16th century. The Palazzo degli Oddi, as the structure was called in the past, had only one floor. However, later there were works on expansion, and by 1768 the palazzo had turned into a large and impressive palace. The way that it looks nows is a consequence of the reconstruction works of the early 21st century.
How to get there
You can reach the Fondazione Marini Clarelli Santi in Perugia from the Via Orazio Antinori stop. There are buses 102, 104, 109, 111, 118, 119, 122, E, K, N, O, P, Q.
Opening hours: the museum is temporarily closed for visitors. Data of May 2018.
