Palazzo degli Alberti (local: ''Casone degli Alberti'') is a historical building in the center of

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(2, Via Degli Alberti). It was the seat of

Cassa di Risparmio di Prato Cassa di Risparmio di Prato S.p.A. or known as Cariprato or C.R. Prato, is a former Italian saving bank based in Prato, Tuscany. It was acquired by Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVi) in 2003. In 2010 it was completely absorbed by the parent company ...

(the saving bank of Prato, Cariprato, now part of the

Banca Popolare di Vicenza Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVi) was an Italian bank and currently a winding-down company. The banking group along was the 15th-largest retail and corporate bank of Italy by total assets at 31 December 2016, according to Mediobanca. However, its si ...

) and was home to the former's large art collection. In 2013 it was reported that Banca Popolare di Vicenza moved all the collection to Vicenza after liquidated Cariprato. The former owner of Cariprato,

Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Prato Cassa di Risparmio di Prato S.p.A. or known as Cariprato or C.R. Prato, is a former Italian saving bank based in Prato, Tuscany. It was acquired by Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVi) in 2003. In 2010 it was completely absorbed by the parent company ...

, continued to use the building as headquarter.

History

The palace originated in the 13th century, as testified by traces of

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

ti and openings (later closed) in its façade, dating from that period and made of ''pietra alberese'', a kind of Tuscan

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The current appearance of the façade is from later restorations, performed in the late 15th-early 16th centuries. Features from this period include the portal, the windows and the two decorative frames. At the palace's corner is a stone coat of arms of the Bardi di Vernio family, to which, among the others, belonged

Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

's wife,

Contessina de' Bardi Contessina de' Bardi (1390–October 1473), was an Italian noblewoman from the House of Bardi. Her marriage into the House of Medici provided her husband's family with much needed nobility, prestige, and military support as they established th ...

. The Cassa di Risparmio di Prato, founded in 1830, moved its seat here in 1870. In the following year, the building was restored and enlarged, until it reached its current size. During 2020, the Banco Intesa separated the entrance to the bank branch and the entrance to the exhibition space. 240px, ''Madonna with Child'' (c. 1436), by Filippo Lippi.

Art gallery

Palazzo degli Alberti was home to the art gallery of the Cassa di Risparmio di Prato, with the most famous work of the collection being '' The Crowning with Thorns'', attributed to

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

(c. 1604). The bulk of the collection is formed by Tuscan

Baroque paintings Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival,Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first app ...

(''Moses Saved from the Waters''),

Jacopo Vignali Jacopo Vignali (September 5, 1592 – August 3, 1664) was an Italian painter of the early Baroque period. Biography Vignali was born in Pratovecchio, near Arezzo, and initially trained under Matteo Rosselli. He painted the ceiling fresco of the ' ...

Giovanni Battista Vanni Biography Giovanni Battista Vanni was born in either Pisa or Florence around 1599; he studied successively under Jacopo da Empoli, Aurelio Lomi, and Matteo Rosselli, and then became a disciple of Cristofano Allori. He is better known as an engr ...

Francesco Furini Francesco Furini (c. 1600 (or 1603) – August 19, 1646) was an Italian Baroque painter of Florence, noted for his sensual sfumato style in paintings of both secular and religious subjects. Biography He was born in Florence to an artistic ...

(''David and Goliath''), Giovanni Bilivert (''Angelica and Roger''),

Carlo Dolci Carlo (or Carlino) Dolci (25 May 1616 – 17 January 1686) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence, known for highly finished religious pictures, often repeated in many versions. Biography He was born in Florence, ...

Cesare Cesare, the Italian version of the given name Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel * Cesare Arzelà (1847–1912), I ...

Vincenzo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bell ...

and

Pietro Dandini Pietro Dandini (12 April 1646 – 26 November 1712) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. Biography He is also called ''Pier Dandini''. He was the son (or nephew) and pupil of the painter Vincenzo Dandini. Pi ...

Justus Sustermans Justus Sustermans, Joost Sustermans or Suttermans, his given name Italianised to Giusto (Antwerp, 28 September 1597 – Florence, 23 April 1681), was a Flemish painter and draughtsman who is mainly known for his portraits. He also painted histor ...

(''Portrait of

Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest- ...

'', Livio Mehus, Francesco Conti,

Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of t ...

and Cosimo Salvestrini. Renaissance paintings include a ''Madonna with Child'' (c. 1436) by a young

Filippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orp ...

, a ''Crucifixion''(c. 1505) by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

, as well as works by

Santi di Tito Santi di Tito (5 December 1536 – 25 July 1603) was one of the most influential and leading Italian painters of the proto-Baroque style – what is sometimes referred to as "Counter-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism. Biography He was born in Flor ...

. There is also a sculpture group by the Pratese artist

Lorenzo Bartolini Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato, 7 January 1777 Florence, 20 January 1850) was an Italian sculptor who infused his neoclassicism with a strain of sentimental piety and naturalistic detail, while he drew inspiration from the sculpture of the Florentine ...

References

{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Tuscany Alberti Renaissance architecture in Tuscany