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About
Palazzo Roncioni is a palace located on the northern bank of the Arno River, in Pisa, adjacent to the Palazzo Toscanelli and about 100 meters away from Palazzo Vecchio de’ Medici.
SHORT HISTORY
The palace was built in the first half of the 17th century, by merging several medieval buildings. In 1662, the original owners, the Navarette family, sold it to the Roncioni family.
In 1789, Angiolo Roncioni, passionate about art, hired the painter Giovanni Battista Tempesti to paint frescoes on the walls and the vaulted ceilings of the palace, and J.B. Desmarais to paint family portraits.
In 1794, Angiolo Roncioni and Andrea Agostini created the Roncioni Academy, a cultural circle where famous artists were invited, and where the most advanced theatrical texts of the period were presented.
In 1795, the owner comissioned the architect Alessandro Gherardesca to build a small theater in the palace. The Count Vittorio Alfieri, the founder of the Italian tragedy, stayed there in the same year, when he was invited to recite his work Saul during the period of Luminara di San Ranieri. In 1816, the writer Madame de Staël lived in the palace, and later Louis Bonaparte – the brother of Napoleon, and Lord Byron.
ARCHITECTURE
The facade of the palace, on which stands the emblem of the owners, a robust horse, dates back to the middle of the 17th century.
The floor layout is horseshoe shaped with an airy loggia opening onto a garden enclosed by some dependencies. The interiors retain the 18th-century frescoes, but also medieval painting decorations dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. There is also an important marble fireplace created by the sculptor Giovanni Baratta.
HOW TO GET THERE
Palazzo Roncioni is located about 1.3 kilometers away from the Pisa Centrale railway station, or about 20 minutes on foot. The closest bus stop is Mediceo 2, on the bus Lines LAM Verde, 2, 4, 5, 13, 21 and 22, located about 130 meters away.
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