Conversion of Palazzo dell Penna into a museum

The project to convert the Palazzo dell Penna into a museum was masterminded by a well-known Italian architect and expert museum-designer, Franco Minissi. In the early 1980s, working according to the principles of integrated conservation, the architect focused mainly on projects which emphasize the architectural and historical peculiarities of pre-existing buildings.

The museum conversion work gave pride of place to the original layout of the palazzo’s architectural volumes and a logical will to leave its nature and appearance unaltered. As there was no single existing  connection between the ground floor and the building’s two lower stories Minissi opted to install a spiral staircase providing an uninterrupted vertical link embedded in the courtyard. The staircase is voluntarily external to the edifice and completely below surface level with the aim of connecting the building’s volumes and ensuring a fluid itinerary, resulting in a new functional space of high architectural worth.

While easily recognisable as being modern compared to with the palazzo’s general appearance, the conversion operation does not feature any stylistic ambiguity or mimesis of the older parts of the building. With regard to the architectural features of the building, inherent in the architect’s design criteria for the museum’s layout (including temporary exhibition spaces), precedence was given to the principles of flexibility and reversibility in order to emphasize the notions of hospitality and respect for the building’s unique characteristics.