4130566AccessibilitaPalazzo della CorgnaAccessibilita1
Palazzo della Corgna
In 1550, Pope Julius III entrusted his sister Giacoma Del Monte with the seigniory of Chiusi, Città della Pieve and Castiglione del Lago. She in turn assigned the fiefs in vicariate to her sons Fulvio, bishop and later cardinal of Perugia, and Ascanio, condottiere and man of arms. In 1563, Ascanio was appointed Marquis of Castiglione del Lago. Thus, he decided to build an aristocratic dwelling “similar to a palace” in the beautiful town on the shores of the lake, refurbishing the hunting lodge of the Baglioni family. He therefore entrusted the project to Galeazzo Alessi, a Perugian architect who had gained fame in important projects in Milan, Bologna and Genoa, his personal friend and master architect. According to others, the palace was designed instead by the most important architect of the time: Jacopo Barozzi, known as the Vignola. Most probably both architects competed in the final design. In “Gli orti di Mecenate”, the court poet Cesare Caporali sang the praises of this magnificent palace and its garden (“abitazione parea di qualche dio”).
Now the garden is gone, the building is integrated into the urban context of Castiglione del Lago and connected by a walkway to the nearby Rocca del Leone.
The main façade is in pietra serena and sandstone, and has an entrance carved out of a forepart of the building, accessed via a double flight of stairs. The plan is L-shaped, and between the two sides of the letter a little of the ancient and beautiful Italian garden survives.
The interior is divided into four levels: the basement, which housed the stables and service rooms; the ground floor, divided into three rooms, with the kitchens and other meeting and leisure areas; the main floor, which housed the marquis's flats, and above, the staff quarters.
Climbing the ramps leads directly to the main floor, now used as a museum. Its eight rooms are entirely decorated with frescoes by Niccolò Circignani known as il Pomarancio and others, with historical and mythological themes.
Façade of Palazzo della Corgna in Castiglione del Lago
Corner view of Palazzo della Corgna in Castiglione del Lago
Side view of the Palazzo della Corgna in Castiglione del Lago
As happens in such cases, the rooms are named after the main subjects of the representation: the Sala di Paride (Room of Paris) at the entrance, with frescoes by the Mannerist painter Salvio Savini, where the Della Corgna, Del Monte (the family of Ascanio's mother, sister of Pope Julius III) and Colonna (Diomede, Ascanio's nephew and heir, had married the princess Porzia Colonna) coats of arms can be seen on the sides; the Sala delle gesta di Ascanio (Room of the Deeds of Ascanio), by Pomarancio, in which, in 16 fake tapestries on the walls and in the central panel of the ceiling, the exploits of the Marquis condottiere are celebrated, including the “duel of the century”, in which he pierced Captain Giovanni Taddei from side to side with a famous strike; the Sala di Giove (Room of Jupiter), or Sala degli Dei (Room of the Gods); the Sala di Fetonte (Room of Phaeton), the Sala dell'Eneide (Room of the Aeneid), also known as “del Consiglio” (of the Council) because the Priors of the lake used to meet there; the Sala della battaglia del Trasimeno (Room of the battle of Lake Trasimene), according to some the marquis' bedroom and for others the study of the court secretary, the poet Cesare Caporali; the Sala di Proserpina (Room of Proserpina), reserved for Ascanio's sister and Diomede's mother, Laura Della Corgna; the Sala di Cesare (Room of Caesar), which houses the secret door where, in case of danger, the Rocca del Leone could be reached through a walkway.
The ground floor, which today houses the Municipal Library, is divided into three rooms, the so-called secret rooms, richly frescoed with esoteric and symbolic subjects: the Sala del mondo alla rovescia (Room of the Upside-Down World), the Sala delle Arti (Room of the Arts) and the Sala delle metamorfosi (Room of Metamorphosis). According to sources, in these rooms, the Marquis held his coveted private meetings of a literary and cultural nature with the most renowned scholars and intellectuals from Perugia of the time, in the presence of the secretary and poet Caporali.
The palace and the figure of Ascanio have been central to the history of the small town on Lake Trasimeno; even today, among the inhabitants of Castiglione, there is a legend that at midnight on December 3rd, the anniversary of Ascanio’s death, his ghost appears in front of the main door and roams inside the Palace.
Useful information and accessibility
Useful information:
Contact: 0039 075951099 – cooplagdarte94@gmai.com
How to reach the property:
It is possible to reach the museum by car. There is a public parking lot with blue lines outside the ZTL (limited traffic zone), with an asphalt surface that is slightly uneven in some parts. There are two parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities who have a permit. These spaces are located about 50 meters from the entrance to the Palazzo della Corgna museum. There is also a parking space reserved for those with a Pink Permit. Additionally, there is a tactile path in the external square that connects the stretch between Porta Perugina and the start of the entrance ramp to the museum.
Moving around the facility:
The building consists of four floors, but the museum is located only on the main floor, which corresponds to the first floor. Access to Palazzo della Corgna is via a brick-paved ramp, which is uneven in some parts, approximately 11 meters long, without intermediate landings, and with a slope of 19%. There is no handrail. The entrance door is a double-leaf door, and when fully open, it provides a clear opening of 89 cm. This door also serves as the exit.
In the entrance hall, known as the “Sala di Paride”, there is a map with the museum itinerary and an audio guide with a QR code. The museum itinerary begins at the ticket office, where staff are available to provide assistance and information. Here, there is also a bookshop and a souvenir purchase point. The museum itinerary follows a loop starting from the entrance and has slight level differences near the doorways, which vary between 4 and 8 cm, where not connected by small ramps.
Use of contents:
The facility features two touch-screen informational totems located at the entrance to the “Sala di Paride”, where there is also a map of the itinerary equipped with an audio guide using QR code technology. Inside the exhibition rooms, there are stations with tactile relief artworks, accompanied by information in Braille and an audio guide with a QR code. The informational supports are made of plexiglass and are designed with heights and maneuvering spaces to facilitate access to the content by diverse users, such as children, wheelchair users, or people of short stature.
Toilet features:
The restrooms, including one accessible for wheelchair users with frontal access and a horizontal handrail, are located on the ground floor of Palazzo della Corgna but can only be reached via a route with several architectural barriers: from the museum's entrance hall, it is necessary to overcome three flights of stairs, which vary in number and step configuration.
