Museums
Piersanti Museum: the Palace
Palazzo Piersanti, today the residence of an important museum, and Palazzo Ottoni are the most famous historic buildings in Matelica. and the interior side of the main courtyard.
The Piersanti Palace, which is a 16th juxtaposition of three buildings belonging to three different periods, presents a complex plan centred around two courtyards, the one situated northwards and the other placed westwards. According to Professor Montinori and Mozzoni, at the end of the 15th century the Pellegrini household from Gualdo Tadino commissioned the original structure of the edifice that nowadays coincides with the side facing onto via Umberto I and the interior side of the main courtyard.
In the 2nd half of the 15th century it changed into a sumptuous Renaissance palace, when its owners bought another building (that currently is the north side of Piersanti Museum) and erected other two sides in the main courtyard in order to connect the 15th century structure with the new palace that was finished during the 16th century. and the interior side of the main courtyard.
The sides of the main courtyard show evidence of the 16th century juxtaposition especially on the second floor where an elegant 15th century balcony is placed further down than the contiguous side of the courtyard. and the interior side of the main courtyard.
In the 2nd half of the 16th century the main facade was modified and enriched with fine moulding around the windows and a limestone portal. The palace's windows present a degree of complexity that gradually changes depending on their position, so those ones placed on the basement are very simple and decorated with the windowsill of the ground floor windows. and the interior side of the main courtyard.
On the first floor they become more elegant and elaborate thanks to an exterior moulding, some small volutes and an upper cornice that embellish them. Here instead of the windowsill you can admire a limestone string-course moulding that decorates the first floor. and the interior side of the main courtyard.
The main entrance, which was commissioned by Piersanti family when they bought the palace in 1728, presents a precious family coat of arms. The building history of the palace ends with some restorations ordered by the Piersantis during that period.