A short distance away from the Basilica of St. Francis you can visit another significant venue in the town: the Municipal Art Gallery, set up on the piano nobile (main floor) of Palazzo Vallemani.
The museum holds a large number of mediaeval and Renaissance frescoes and paintings on wood and canvas from the town’s civil and religious buildings. The collection dates back to the years following the Unification of Italy and was inaugurated in 1912 in the former convent of Saint Anthony, where it remained until 1926. It was transferred that year to the rooms on the ground floor of Palazzo dei Priori and finally, to its current home.
A visit to the Art Gallery means immersing yourself in the history of art, observing the development of local painting over the centuries, and getting to know the main artists who worked in the area and in the town. The most important works include: the Maestà, attributed to Giotto or one of his collaborators, originally from the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, the Madonna by Palmerino di Guido, who had previously decorated the façade of the Church of San Niccolò in Piazza del Comune, and a fragment of the fresco of Porta San Rufino carried out by Puccio Capanna.
An entire room is devoted to the painter Tiberio di Assisi. In the room next door proudly stands the gonfalon by Niccolò di Liberatore, known as l’Alunno, with the Madonna of Mercy between St. Francis and St. Clare on the front and the Annunciation at the top; on the back is Saint Biagio on the throne between Saint Rufino and Saint Vittorino and scenes from the life of Saint Biagio with the Crucifixion in the upper part. You can also admire not only the Annunciation and the Madonna with Child between St. James and St. Anthony, but also what remains of the decoration of the façade of the pilgrims’ hospital, Ospedale dei Pellegrini, built in 1417 and run by the confraternity of St Joseph and St. Anthony the Abbot. The frescoes in particular were carried out by one of the most important artists of Umbrian Late Gothic art, Ottaviano Nelli from Gubbio.
Continue your tour until you come to the works of Dono Doni (second half of the 16th century): his Annunciation, St. Francis receiving the stigmata and his Crucifixion. Lastly, once you have passed the little distempered study, you’ll come to the final room that holds the most significant painting on wood in the museum, portraying the dying St. Francis blessing the town of Assisi by Cesare Sermei (16th century).
Audio guide: yes
Languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish
Guided tours: yes, booking required
Guided tour languages: Italian, English
Restrooms: yes
Infopoint: yes
Shop: yes
Refreshment points: no
Cloakroom: no
Accessibility: not accessible
From April to October:
from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Closed on non-public holiday Tuesdays
From 2 November to 24 December:
from Monday to Friday – booking required;
Saturday, Sundays and public holidays: from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
From 26 December to 6 January:
open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
From 7 January to 28 February:
open by appointment only for groups.
From 1 to 31 March Saturdays:
Sundays and public holidays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.;
Monday-Friday by appointment for groups.
Closed on 25 December.
Admission: full price €3.00.
Discount ticket: €2.00, for university students with enrollment ID, schools, children aged 9 to 18, seniors over 65, groups of over 20 persons.
Free: schools and residents of the municipality of Assisi, children up to 8 years old, disability card holders, ICOM members.
Full price combined ticket: €10.00*.
Discount combined ticket: €7.00*, university students with badge, schools, children aged between 9 and 18, over 65, groups of over 20, Assisi Welcome Card holders.
* Combined tickets include access to the Roman Forum, Rocca Maggiore and Pinacoteca Comunale and multilingual audio guide.
The ticket office closes 30 minutes before closing time.
Via San Francesco, 12
The Municipal Art Gallery in Assisi stands in Assisi’s historic centre, a stone’s throw from Piazza Giovanni Paolo II.
On foot: the building can easily be reached on foot from anywhere in the town.
By bus: 700 metres from the bus stop for the C line in Piazza Giovanni Paolo II and 270 metres from the bus stop at Porta San Giacomo on the A-B line.
By car: only authorised vehicles can access Assisi’s historic centre.
