The Palazzo Buonaccorsi is an 18th-century aristocratic palace, now the civic museum of the town, located on Via Don Minzoni 24 in the historic center of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy.

The palace was erected on a site with some houses just inside the former medieval city walls. The Buonaccorsi family, led by Simone the Elder had risen to prominence by the mid-17th century; Simone’s brother Buonaccorso (1620-1678) had become a cardinal. Simone endeavored to build a palace here, commensurate with the family’s rising status. After the Simone’s death in 1708, his son Raimondo continued the project, aided by his brother Filippo, Abbott of San Quirico, and employing the designs of the architects Giovanni Battista Contini and Ludovico Gregorini. The palace encompassed the former Palazzo Centini and other houses at the site. Raimondo’s son, also called Simone (1708-1776) would also become a cardinal. After the death of Raimondi in 1746, the family was elevated in to the Roman Patriciate by Pope Benedict XIV, leading the family to abandon Macerata for Rome. The Buonaccorsi family returned in 1853 under Conte Flavio, and began needed refurbishments.

Raimondo and Simone were mainly responsible for patronizing the construction of the palace, and the decoration of the piano nobile. Such decoration began in 1707 with paintings by Carlo Antonio Rambaldi, and quadratura by Antonio Dardani. Abbott Filippo is said to have been instrumental in deciding on the choice of the subjects and iconography for painting, including the ceiling depicting the Marriage of Ariadne and Bacchus (by Michelangelo Ricciolini and his son Niccolo) with vaults the hall decorated with a dozen rococo canvas paintings (1710-1715) on episodes from the Aeneid, painted by among the most prominent Italian artists of the time.

Today the palace accommodates the “Musei Civici di Palazzo Buonaccorsi” including a pinacoteca (painting gallery spanning works from the medieval period to modern times, and houses a carriage museum (Museo della Carrozza), as well as a library (biblioteca “Amedeo Ricci”).

Le Marche Guide

Agriturismo Pascucci

Civic Museums of Palazzo Buonaccorsi

Civic Museums of Palazzo Buonaccorsi

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