Among the important works of art it contains are the frescoes painted by artists like Niccolò Circignani, better known as "Il Pomarancio".
Palazzo della Corgna was built by Ascanio della Corgna when the State of Castiglione was handed over to his powerful family by Pope Julius II.
Work on it began in 1563 and the project was executed by Galeazzo Alessi and Il Vignola.
The palazzo is, in fact, an elegant Renaissance noble home.
Designed with a L-shaped layout, the main façade has a raised entrance that is reached by a double staircase. Set back to the left of the main building is the lesser wing of the building, a simple structure with a sequence of rectangular windows.
Between the two buildings lies what remains of what was once a large and elegant Italianate garden.
The interior of the palazzo is rich with pictorial decoration in keeping with the social standing the della Corgna family enjoyed in the Renaissance.
The ground floor is divided into three rooms with frescoes depicting playful scenes of leisure, it is where people gathered and engaged in social activities.
The stairs lead to the upper floor, the ‘noble floor'. It was here that della Corgna lived and where he entertained important guests. The rooms, which are part of the museum's route, are entirely decorated with frescoes by Niccolò Circignani and Antonio Pandolfi rife with important themes celebrating the family's fame and glory.
It was here that Diomede della Penna, a nephew of Ascanio, had the walls covered in frescoes depicting the military and political prowess of his uncle, which we find in 16 faux arras on the walls and in the large one on the ceiling.
A story handed down over the years in Castiglione recounts that at midnight every 3rd of December, the anniversary of Ascanio's death, his ghost shows up at the front door and then roams about the rooms of the Palazzo.
Leave your car outside of the old walls and walk into the old centre on foot, following the lively main street all the way down to Palazzo della Corgna.
You can visit the grand old building buying a comprehensive Sistema Museum ticket that also includes the medieval fortress and the covered walkway that connects the Palazzo to the fortress.
