Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici is a historic palace overlooking Piazza Grande, the monumental heart of Arezzo. Construction began during the fourteenth century, but the building developed through several distinct phases, combining medieval stonework, Renaissance sculpture and sixteenth-century architectural additions within a single façade. Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici occupies a prestigious position between the apse of the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve and the Logge Vasari. Its location reflects the importance acquired by the Fraternita dei Laici, an institution established in Arezzo in 1262 and closely connected with the city’s social, charitable and cultural development. Originally known as the Fraternita di Santa Maria della Misericordia, the organization assisted poor residents, transported and buried the dead and administered donations received from local benefactors. It gradually accumulated enough property and financial resources to support hospitals, schools, public infrastructure, artistic commissions and cultural institutions. Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici is especially recognizable for its façade, where the Gothic lower level is joined to a Renaissance upper section and a bell gable designed by Giorgio Vasari. The latter contains an astronomical clock constructed in 1552 and still operated through its historic mechanical system. The building now accommodates the Fraternita dei Laici Museum, Read more [...]
All Museums in Arezzo
Arezzo’s National Archaeological Museum, housed in the former Monastery of San Bernardo beside the Roman amphitheater, displays important Etruscan and Roman finds discovered across the surrounding territory. Casa Vasari offers a more intimate experience, allowing visitors to explore the artist’s former home, decorated with remarkable frescoes, paintings, and elaborate Mannerist interiors.
The National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art presents sculptures, paintings, ceramics, and decorative works spanning several centuries of Tuscan art. In Piazza Grande, the Fraternita dei Laici Museum preserves paintings, drawings, sculptures, historical furnishings, and the extraordinary astronomical clock created in 1552, still functioning after almost five centuries.