After two years of closure, Ancona ’s Pinacoteca Civica “Francesco Podesti” reopens to the public on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, with a new layout of the permanent rooms. The reopening returns to the city its main museum and one of the most important cultural venues in the Marche region. The intervention is also part of Ancona ’s candidacy for Italian Capital of Culture 2028 and is connected to the return of the Marche Prize, which after 20 years presents the Erratica exhibition, helping to renew the relationship between the city and its artistic production.
The Pinacoteca Civica is recognized as one of the most relevant museum institutions in Italy for the presence of works from the Marche, Veneto and various Italian art schools. The collections cover a chronological span from the 15th to the 20th century and include masterpieces of great significance. These include Tiziano Vecellio’s Gozzi Altarpiece, dated 1520, flanked by the Crucifixion, also by the Venetian artist. Alongside these works are Olivuccio Ciccarello’s Circumcision, Carlo Crivelli’s Madonna and Child, Lorenzo Lotto ’s Halberd Altarpiece, and Guercino’sImmaculate Conception, in which the figure of the Virgin emerges from a seascape reminiscent of the Doric Gulf. Completing the main core is Carlo Maratti’s Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas of Bari, Francis de Sales and Ambrose, made in 1672 for the high altar of the church of San Nicola in Ancona. The collection also includes evidence of the Ancona school, such as works by Andrea Lilli, and paintings of particular appeal, including La Negromante attributed to Angelo Caroselli.
“The Pinacoteca,” says Councillor Marta Paraventi, “will return to the availability of the city of Ancona.The layout of the rooms will offer citizens and visitors a modern, inclusive and coherent cultural experience, making the most of our collections, which represent a strong identity element for the city. From 2026, the Art Gallery will be able to host large-scale exhibitions, further enriching the city’s cultural offerings.A true integrated museum cultural route that, from the Mole Vanvitelliana reaches the Via Maestra, one of the project areas of the Ancona 2028 Italian Capital of Culture candidacy dossier, and winds its way from the Teatro delle Muse to the Pinacoteca, to the Archaeological Museum, the Amphitheater and the Diocesan Museum, including historic squares and Vanvitellian churches.”
The reopening crowns a wide-ranging redevelopment project approved by the City Council at the proposal of Culture Councillor Marta Paraventi, supported by the Marche Region and sponsors Viva Servizi and Viva Energia, with the supervision of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Ancona, Pesaro and Urbino. The path is connected to the interventions launched in 2023 by the Department of Public Works thanks to PNRR funds, which involved Palazzo Bosdari with plant, mechanical, electrical and air conditioning upgrades, ensuring the museum updated standards of conservation and fruition. The project also included a revision of the exhibition methods, elaborated in relation to the guidelines for the enhancement of the city’s cultural identity. In this context, a scientific project of the collections was developed that included collaboration with the Museo Tattile Statale Omero, involved on aspects related to accessibility and inclusion. Marche Teatro will also support the Pinacoteca in promotional activities.
The rearrangement was entrusted to architect Carla Lucarelli, who designed the interventions dedicated to the layout of the rooms, lighting bodies and relamping, aimed at optimizing lighting with sustainable solutions that respect conservation needs. The scientific and museographic project is the result of the joint work of Stefano Zuffi, former curator of the Pinacoteca, Luigi Gallo, director of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche and of the Marche Regional Museums Directorate, and Councillor Marta Paraventi. A total of 133 works will be on display, while more than 600 will be kept in the newly equipped storerooms located on the third floor, equipped with air conditioning and integrated security systems.
Zuffi oversaw the general layout of the exhibition, structured in chronological order and inaugurated in a first phase in April 2023 with the new ticket office, the section dedicated to Francesco Podesti and the conference room. Gallo, on the other hand, coordinated the overhaul of the Great Venetian altarpieces room, improving the legibility of Titian’s works and preparing the relocation of the Alabarda Altarpiece to a dedicated space. In 2025, the layout took final shape, with Folding Screens confirming the museological style of 2023 and expanding the exhibition itinerary. Added elements include a larger core of works by Francesco Podesti, a 15th-century bas-relief that could depict Ciriaco d’Ancona, proposed as the guiding spirit of the itinerary, and the 19th-century Portrait of a Woman of the Ferretti Family. Special attention was paid to works by Olivuccio di Ciccarello, Andrea Lilli and the Necromancer attributed to Caroselli. The two works by Guercino were placed in visual dialogue to highlight their expressive power.
The new layout redesigns the museum itinerary with specific attention to narrative coherence, functionality and accessibility. The rooms are illuminated by low-consumption, high-color rendering LED systems, calibrated to the needs of ancient and modern painting, while the paneling and false walls created in Lucarelli’s design allow for the shielding of systems and restore unity to the rooms. In addition, the educational apparatus has been renewed in Italian and English, with the addition of tactile systems developed together with the Omero State Tactile Museum.
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.; Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays
Tickets: Full € 8, Reduced € 5
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| Ancona's Pinacoteca Civica Podesti reopens after two years with a new layout |
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