Palazzo Blu

Palazzo Blu is a museum and cultural center in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, housed in the historic Palazzo Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi at 9 Lungarno Gambacorti. Opened in 2008, it occupies a restored aristocratic palace in the heart of Pisa's historic center and serves as a venue for temporary exhibitions and cultural activities. Managed by the Fondazione Palazzo Blu, which is funded by Fondazione Pisa, the institution has become a significant destination for art exhibitions, drawing large audiences to shows featuring major international artists. Its distinctive name derives from the blue color uncovered during architectural restoration, attributed to Russian owners who acquired the palace in the eighteenth century.

The palace remained inhabited by the Counts Giuli until 2001. Despite experiencing wartime occupation as an Allied forces observation post during World War II, it survived without major damage. The Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa purchased the building and transformed it into a center for art and culture, initially named BLU - Centro d'Arte e Cultura. The institution opened to the public on January 1, 2008. Since then, it has developed a robust program of temporary exhibitions that have attracted substantial audiences. Early exhibitions included "Il cannocchiale e il pennello" (2009), focusing on science and art in Galileo's age, followed by increasingly prominent shows. Major successes included "Chagall e il Mediterraneo" (2009-2010) with 85,265 visitors; "Amedeo Modigliani et ses amis" (2014-2015) with approximately 110,000 visitors; and "Andy Warhol, una storia americana" (2013-2014) with 80,000 visitors. On April 25, 2015, the palace cellars opened to the public, displaying archaeological finds from restoration work, and the exhibition program has continued with shows on Hokusai (2024-2025) and a planned exhibition on Italian painters in Paris during the Belle Époque (2025-2026).

The permanent exhibition at Palazzo Blu is organized across three main sections. The Fondazione Pisa collection occupies the second floor, while the first floor contains the stately apartments and the Simoneschi Collection, which encompasses numismatics and antiquities. The collections span from the fourteenth through the twentieth centuries, with particular strength in artists connected to Pisa. The twentieth-century holdings include works by Umberto Vittorini, Mino Rosi, Ferruccio Pizzanelli, and Fortunato Bellonzi, the latter associated with the Second Futurism movement. The Simoneschi Collection, transferred from Palazzo Simoneschi, comprises a broad repertoire of antiquities, a notable numismatic collection, and a gathering of woodcuts, etchings, and lithographs by the Pisan artist Giuseppe Viviani. In 2013, a subset of the Simoneschi coins and medals was digitized using Reflectance Transformation Imaging techniques, creating an interactive digital consultation system available both on an in-gallery kiosk and online.

The permanent collection features significant works by artists spanning several centuries. From the trecento and Renaissance periods through 1800, holdings include works by Francesco da Volterra, Getto di Jacopo, Agnolo Gaddi, Cecco di Pietro, Taddeo di Bartolo, Benozzo Gozzoli, Vincenzo Foppa, Aurelio Lomi, Lodovico Cigoli, Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, Giovanni Battista Tempesti, Jean Baptiste Desmarais, Giuseppe Bezzuoli, and Luigi Gioli. The twentieth-century collection features Umberto Vittorini, Mino Rosi, Ferruccio Pizzanelli, and Fortunato Bellonzi. The palace cellars, opened in 2015, contain numerous archaeological objects excavated during restoration, mostly everyday items dating from antiquity through the nineteenth century. The rooms themselves are furnished in eighteenth-century style with period furniture and furnishings.

Palazzo Blu is located in the Palazzo Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi and adjacent Palazzo Casarosa, ancient palaces restored by Fondazione Pisa. The building occupies a prominent position at 9 Lungarno Gambacorti along the Arno river in Pisa's historic center. Its name originates from the blue color discovered during architectural restoration, a feature attributable to the taste of Russian owners who acquired the palace in the eighteenth century. The interior preserves its aristocratic character, with the main floors arranged to display the collections in historically appropriate settings. The palace includes an auditorium that hosts conferences, workshops, and events dedicated to the arts, culture, and the territory. The underground spaces were developed into exhibition areas following archaeological investigation during restoration work.

Palazzo Blu is situated at 9 Lungarno Gambacorti in the historic center of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. It is managed by the Fondazione Palazzo Blu, a foundation funded by Fondazione Pisa. The museum is accessible to visitors on the ground floor and piano nobile, where the main collections are displayed. The palace cellars have been open to the public since April 25, 2015. Additional rooms are reserved for temporary exhibitions focused on twentieth-century artists. The institution maintains an official website at https://palazzoblu.it/ and offers multilingual resources in Italian, English, and French.