Pisa | Palazzo Reale National Museum

Palazzo Reale has been over the centuries the residence of three dynasties in Pisa: Medici, Lorraine and Savoy.

Historical and Artistic Insights

Palazzo Reale, Lungarno Pacinotti

The current appearance on the Lungarno Pacinotti is the result of the architectural intervention of Francesco I de ‘Medici, who at the end of the 16th century decided to abandon the “Palazzo Vecchio” (near the current Museum of San Matteo) to move on the other side of the Arno River. Of the existing houses was spared the tower of Verga d’Oro, from which it is said that Galileo has shown the operation of the telescope to Grand Duke Cosimo II.

The museum

Tapestry

In addition to currently serving as the headquarters of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for Pisa and Livorno, since 1989, it has housed the collection of the National Museum of Palazzo Reale.

The palace has reclaimed spaces and connections with adjacent buildings that once constituted the complex of the grand-ducal court.

It retains the appearance of a patrician residence, with furnishings and furniture from the 17th to 19th centuries. The collection includes portraits, furnishings, tapestries, armor from royal families, including beautiful Flemish and Florentine tapestries, and armor from the Gioco del Ponte (which takes place on the last Saturday of June on the Ponte di Mezzo).

The works of art

Portrait of Maria Luigia d’Austria

Also noteworthy is the precious compartment from the polyptych of San Nicola da Tolentino, painted by the young Raffaello in 1500, as well as the portrait and court attire of Eleonora di Toledo by Bronzino from 1549.

On display is also the collection of the surgeon Antonio Ceci, the plaster casts, and paintings by Italo Griselli, one of the leading Italian sculptor-portraitists of the first half of the twentieth century