• the picenes
• the Picenes in matelica
• the exhibition itinerary

• the finaguerra palace
• the visit of the museum
• the educational activities

• the city
• the province
• the region

• the city
• events and shopping
• accommodation facilities

The Finaguerra Palace

The Finaguerra Palace is located on the northern site of St. Francis Square in Matelica. The building, which in the past was the residence of the Finaguerra family, an aristocratic lineage, nowadays houses the Civic Archaeological Museum.
The palace, as it looks today, dates back to the first half of the 18th century and it was built in a area occupied by earlier buildings, whilst the internal architectural features and the decorations go back to the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century.
The walls of the rooms on the first floor are almost wholly frescoed. The predominant ornamental elements, which characterize the decoration of the doors and the windows, are grotesque patterns embellished with a monochromatic moulding with human figures, landscapes, floral patterns, vegetable sprays, real and imaginary animals.
The frescoes of the central hall have the same ornamental elements which enhance the ceiling decoration where, inside three big painted panels, are Amorettoes and the symbols of the four seasons; in the middle of the ceiling a fifth Amoretto is represented in the attitude of supporting the chandelier.
The walls of the gallery are decorated with panels painted on canvas depicting events and figures celebrated as emblems of virtue and connected with the mythical and historical heritage of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The decoration of the gallery’s vault holds the personification of the Virtue, which is framed by rich vegetable ornaments, monochromatic figures and Finaguerra coats of arms situated on the four corners of the gallery. The pictorial decoration of the other rooms is distinguished by painted and horizontal friezes, geometric figures, palisades, vegetable sprays, meanders and stuccoes.