The Palazzo delle Muse is a palace as well as one of the most famous and dated architectures present in the municipality of Viareggio.
History
The name Palazzo delle Muse derives from the fact that the money that was spent to build it was mostly a gift from artists, cultivators of the fine arts such as painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, poets, etc. Thanks to their gifts, on October 14, 1861, the Palazzo delle Muse factory was opened on a project by the architect Giuseppe Poggi, who was in fact in charge of the construction of what began as the Marino Hospice.
Located near the beach, the building consists of a building extended on two upstream wings, opening at the back into a vast and airy portico punctuated by brick pillars and ribbed vaults on which a terrace rests. At that time the building overlooked a vast verdant garden full of vegetation and bordered by a wall that was always part of the building fund. The loggia present in the two side wings of the building enriched the rear elevation of it and gave it a certain harmony thanks to the chromatic alternation due to the white of the stone used for the capitals and the bases of the pillars which contrasted precisely with the red of the bricks. The Ospizio Marino is one if not the main mirror of the architectural-urban values typical of the style of his architect Poggi, who will confirm that he continues to be pleased with his Viareggina work even in old age.
In 1893 the building, to increase its potential, was enlarged by creating a wing on the side facing west, carried out by the master builder Raffaello Morescalchi based on a design by the engineer Eugenio Del Prete. Close to the building were then built the laundry, the caretaker’s house and the large terrace for heliotherapeutic treatments, and at a later time, the isolation block for contagious diseases was built, consisting of four buildings in symmetrical pairs , all equipped with airy verandas.
The Hospice in 1912 became a permanent colony, subject to the exceptional provision to transform it into a military hospital during the years of the First World War, in order to be able to treat minors affected by surgical and medical tubercular diseases, as well as having inside a special department for convalescents of acute illnesses or subjects in need of a stay at the seaside.
From an appraisal drawn up by the engineer Alfredo Belluomini, in June 1923, who was entrusted with the never completed project of transforming the hospice into a building for school and public use, it can be deduced precisely what the situation of the lot relating to the building was following the various arrangements which followed one another over the years between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1927, to meet the new needs, the building was restructured in its internal rooms with interventions that did not compromise too much the original Poggiana scansion.
Finally, in 1938 the municipality of Viareggio decided to purchase the Palazzo delle Muse, to use it as a school with the aim of reserving some rooms to house the public library, thus decreeing the transfer of the Ospizio Marino in Florence to the modern hospital in Cinquale.
A recent renovation has aimed to bring the building back to its original appearance with the aim also of adapting the premises to new and current uses including the Municipal Library, the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Historical Documentary Centre. For many years the building was also the headquarters of the Viareggio Carnival Foundation which has currently moved its offices to the Citadel of the Carnival.
Prior to the aforementioned transfer, the building was the target of a protest by a young protester. These, in disagreement with the cut of funds to the Municipal Library and the consequent contraction of opening hours, smeared the entrance door with an unfortunate writing addressed to the representative mask of the Viareggio carnival, the Burlamacco.
Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art
The Palazzo delle Muse was born thanks to a sort of patronage by various nineteenth-century artists who economically allowed the construction of this building and still today this continues to have to do with art especially thanks to the GAMC, Galleria of Modern and Contemporary Art present on the first floor of the building.
Inside there are over 3,000 works by about 750 artists, all active since the 20th century. Significant is the presence of works by local authors, who in many cases see the landscape or scenarios of the local land as protagonists.
The GAMC also owns the most important public collection of the works of Lorenzo Viani, the original exponent of European Expressionism. Collections of graphics, painting and sculpture are on display and this is undoubtedly one of the most important specialized exhibition centers in the sector.
