The museums of the city of Pesaro with historical collections from the area and beyond
The history of the Civic Museums is linked to one of the most important families of the nobility in Pesaro: The Mosca, extremely wealthy merchants from Bergamo, arrived in the city around the mid-sixteenth century and soon became part of the local nobility. Their rapid economic and social ascent allowed them to build the suburban Villa Caprile in the seventeenth century and the Palace in the city center that still bears their name: Palazzo Mosca. The Civic Museums have been housed here since 1936!
The exhibition path of the Museums was completely renewed in 2013; visiting them means discovering treasures room by room, allowing oneself to be moved by the works arranged chronologically and thematically.
Upon entering the main hall, one immediately encounters a great masterpiece of the Renaissance: the Altarpiece of theCoronation of the Virgin by Giovanni Bellini. Executed by the Venetian painter around 1475, it was originally placed in the Pesaro church of San Francesco and quickly became an object of devotion for the faithful. The solemnity of the mystical event depicted in the central panel contrasts with the lively episodes of the lives of the saints in the predella, but alongside the theological significance, another hypothesis links the altarpiece to the celebration of the marriage between the lord of Pesaro, Costanzo I Sforza, and Camilla d’Aragona, precisely in 1475.
Next to it, other paintings from churches and convents in the city that represent significant moments of local figurative culture between the 14th and 15th centuries.
Mariotto di Nardo, Madonna with children among Saints Michael the Archangel and Francis, oil on canvas, 1400
The visit continues to a very precious room, the “Wunderkammer” of the Museums: ceramics, decorative arts, furnishings, and sculptures. A must-see is the exquisite selection of the most representative historiated works from the Duchy of Urbino – Urbino, Casteldurante (now Urbania), Pesaro, Gubbio – and 16th-century lusters from Deruta, which are part of the Mazza collection, as well as masterpieces from different eras, coming from the legacy of the marchioness Vittoria Toschi Mosca.
In the museum path, one then encounters the works of the Pesaro painter Simone Cantarini, particularly the Mary Magdalene and the Saint Joseph Penitent, and the majestic Fall of the Giants by Guido Reni, conceived probably for the decoration of the ceiling of a private residence. The latter is part of the prestigious Hercolani Rossini collection, acquired in 1883 by the Municipality, the ultimate recipient of the inheritance of Gioachino Rossini, which includes a significant group of works that came to the composer at the point of his death (1868) following a loan to the noble Hercolani family.
Guido Reni and Simone Cantarini
This is part of the collection of Prince Marcantonio Hercolani, which gathered paintings from the churches of Bologna and Romagna and from the antique market: Emilian artists of the 14th and 15th centuries, from the Venetian Renaissance school, and from the Sienese mannerism. Among the treasures is the precious Saint Ambrose on panel by Vitale da Bologna, a rare canvas depicting The Coronation of the Virgin by Simone dei Crocifissi, and other small panels by Michele di Matteo and the 15th-century Giovanni Francesco da Rimini. Among the official portraits is that of the imposing Venetian procurator Michele Priuli, by Tintoretto. The production of 17th-century Bologna is well documented: the masterpiece by Guido Reni, but also works by Francesco Albani, Vincenzo Spisanelli, Giovan Francesco Gessi, Elisabetta Sirani and Carlo Cignani; and it continues into the 18th century with paintings by Giuseppe Maria Crespi and a beautiful scene of Market by Aureliano Milani.
Another highly valuable nucleus consists of still lifes from the late 17th century related to the theme of the transience of beauty and the fragility of human existence. It ranges from the decorative and chromatic exuberance of Christian Berentz and Franz Werner Von Tamm to the perspective illusionism of Antonio Gianlisi Junior. The ceramics of the 18th century with the typical decoration “alla rosa di Pesaro” are added, and the journey is completed by the important neoclassical paintings of Giannandrea Lazzarini, painter, architect, treatise writer, and ceramist, a prominent figure in the cultural life of Pesaro at the time.
How Did the Civic Museums Come About?
The original structure of Palazzo Mosca, a family residence built in the 17th century, was modernized in the 18th century by Marquis Francesco, who entrusted the architect Luigi Baldelli, likely a pupil of Lazzarini. During this period, the Mosca residence enjoyed particular splendor; due to their political and cultural ties, the palace became a lively gathering place for intellectuals and aristocrats. In addition to Vincenzo Monti, Napoleon Bonaparte was also hosted at Palazzo by Francesco Mosca, then a member of the government of the Cisalpine Republic of Milan.
Leaving an indelible mark on the cultural life of her city in the 19th century was Marchesa Vittoria Mosca, a woman of remarkable intelligence and sensitivity. Married at the age of forty-two to Vincenzo Maria Toschi, then twenty-nine, the marchesa cultivated a strong interest in the arts alongside her husband. A refined collector, she amassed a significant heritage composed not only of paintings, including her beloved still lifes, but also of high-quality craft objects such as furniture, ivories, glass, ceramics, and textiles.
This vast and varied collection was not intended solely for the private enjoyment of the family, but was meant to constitute the main nucleus of a museum of industrial arts that would serve to educate those young people who, despite having artistic vocations, had limited opportunities to visit the most significant European museums, as was customary among the higher social classes.
To this end, Vittoria bequeathed, in 1885, to the Municipality of Pesaro, Palazzo Mazzolari, which she had purchased and restored, along with her family collection. In 1888, she inaugurated the Museo Mosca, which, however, had a short life.
The legacy of the Marchesa, however, would constitute a significant part of the collection of the Civic Museums at Palazzo Mosca. The residence of Marchesa Vittoria until 1844, the building remained the home of her sister Bianca and her husband Tommaso Chiaramonti. After various transfers, it became municipal property and was chosen as the site of the Civic Museums in 1936, which had previously been hosted at Palazzo Ducale.
