This palazzo that once belonged to the Fabroni
family now provides some prestigious and rather extraordinary exhibition
spaces for contemporary art in Pistoia. For several years exhibitions
have been held in the rooms on the upper floors that have been restored
for this purpose; the center promotes the most advanced avangard
expressions and some of the greatest visual artists in Italy have
shown here. These shows have contributed to the permanent collection
of contemporary art that is displayed on the third floor of the
building (
vi)
The first documentation of the palazzo goes back to the mid fourteenth
century when il palagio, as the palazzi were called in Medieval
times, consisted of a tower-house belonging to the Dondori family
of Pistoia and it was of much more modest dimensions than the present
building.
Bought by the Fabroni family in the early seventeenth century the
original construction was radically redone. The new owners bought
up the old neighboring houses and these, together with the tower,
formed the main body of the building once the works to enlarge the
palazzo were completed. Remnants of the Medieval houses can be seen
in some of the stone and brick construction that has been uncovered
during recent restoration.
The front that faces the Romanesque church of Sant'Andrea (
vs25)
runs in a curved line in keeping with the cannons of Florentine
Mannerism as it was reinterpreted in the 1700s. Three different
kinds of windows are overhung by three different kinds of architectural
decorations: triangular on the first floor, a low arch on the second
floor and a high, interrupted arch on the top floor. The doorway
which was redone at the beginning of the i 900s is topped by an
interrupted arch; at its center we see the large coat of arms of
the Fabroni family: three hammers on a diagonal stripe. Cardinal
Carlo Agostino Fabroni (
vs38)
was born in this palazzo in the mid 1600s and the family continued
living here until the mid nineteenth century when, after the death
of the last descendent, the building was bought by the City of Pistoia.
For many years it served inappropriate functions: it was the seat
of the Sub-Prefecture and during the Fascist period it served as
the headquarters of the Pistoian federation Fascist party; after
the last World War, for almost twenty years it was used as a school.
Since its restoration, the building has been used in part as a prestigious
exhibition space and in part for city administration offices.
(n.) refers to the number of the file-card (s.i.) means see information
inside
In recent years Palazzo Fabroni Contemporary Visual Art has dedicated
shows to a number of artists who in turn have donated works that
have greatly enriched the public collection. The collection is open
to visitors during the same hours as the exhibitions being held
on the floor below. The artists represented with one or more works
include: R. Barni, F. Bassiri, U. Buscioni, L. Fabro, A. Garutti,
J. Kounellis, E. Melani (
vs50),
V. Messina, Nunzio, A. Pirri, R. Ranaldi, G. Ruffi, M. Tirelli.
There are also works by Pistoian artists like Nigro and Nativi that
had already belonged to the City as well as several works by Agenore
Fabbri that have been acquired recently.
M. Nigro,
Ritmi simultanei verticali 
The
Permanent Collection
