Museo Civico di Montepulciano

The Museo Civico di Montepulciano, also known as the Museo Civico Pinacoteca Crociani, is the municipal art gallery and museum of Montepulciano, a town in the Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Founded in 1954 and housed since 1957 in the medieval Palazzo Neri Orselli, the museum preserves and displays a collection that originated from a major 19th-century bequest and has since grown through acquisitions from ecclesiastical and other sources. It serves as the principal repository of the town's artistic and archaeological heritage, spanning from Etruscan antiquities to Renaissance and Baroque paintings.

The museum's art gallery traces its origins to the donation of Francesco Crociani, primicerio of the cathedral, who bequeathed 188 paintings to the commune in 1859, though the Italian Wikipedia source dates the bequest to 1861. The collection was subsequently enriched by works from various sources, including closed monasteries and ecclesiastical institutions. The museum itself was formally founded in 1954, and in 1957 it found its permanent home in the 14th-century Palazzo Neri Orselli, located at Via Ricci 10 on the corner with Via Talosa in the town center.

The museum's holdings are organized into several distinct sections. The Pinacoteca Crociani forms the core, consisting primarily of 17th- and 18th-century Florentine and Bolognese paintings, with additional works by Netherlandish artists. The archaeological section contains Etruscan tomb assemblages, Roman building materials, and cinerary urns from the collection of the Montepulciano nobleman Pietro Bucelli, including notable bronze pieces such as a foculo, or brazier, and a candelabrum. The Terrecotte Robbiane section displays glazed terracotta works, while the Sezione Poliziana presents local stone inscriptions, heraldic devices, and civic memorabilia including a travertine Marzocco lion symbolizing Florence and a bust of Pope Marcello II from the Cervini family. A small Studiolo contains 16th-century paintings and furnishings.

The Pinacoteca preserves several works of significant art-historical interest. Among the earliest is a 13th-century panel of St Francis of Assisi by Margaritone d'Arezzo. The collection includes a Madonna and Child with Two Angels, recently attributed to the Master of Badia a Isola, a 14th-century follower of Duccio da Buoninsegna, and a Coronation of the Virgin by the Sienese painter Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio. Other Renaissance works include a Nativity attributed to Benvenuto di Giovanni, a Crucifixion derived from a composition by Filippino Lippi, an Allegory of the Immaculate Conception with Saints by Giovanni Antonio Lappoli, and a Holy Family with the Young St John the Baptist by il Sodoma. The museum also holds an Enthroned Madonna and Child by Luca Signorelli from the church of Santa Lucia, a portrait of the Blessed Caterina De' Ricci attributed to Giovanni Battista Naldini, and a portrait of a nobleman recently attributed to Caravaggio, presumed to depict Scipione Caffarelli Borghese. Northern European presence is represented by Children Playing with a Cat, attributed to Abraham Bloemaert. Additional works include portraits attributed to Antonio Franchi, Carlo Maratta, Alessandro Allori, and Tiberio Titi, a Portrait of Violante di Baviera by Bartolomeo Mancini, and a Still Life with Musical Instruments dated 1712 by Cristoforo Munari.

The museum occupies the Palazzo Neri Orselli, a 14th-century structure situated at Via Ricci 10 on the corner with Via Talosa in the historic center of Montepulciano. This medieval palace provides an appropriate architectural setting for the display of works ranging from the 13th to the 18th centuries, with the building's period character complementing the historical nature of the collections.

The Museo Civico di Montepulciano is located in the center of Montepulciano, Province of Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. As the town's municipal museum, it functions as the primary public institution for the preservation and display of Montepulciano's cultural heritage. The museum maintains a website at http://www.museisenesi.org for further information regarding access and programming.