Palazzo Blu in Pisa

Last Friday we spent the morning working and then went to Pisa after lunch. An article about an exhibit sent us in search of Palazzo Blu, a museum that currently has an exhibit of works by Artimisia Gentileschi, the premier female painter of the Renaissance.

It is difficult to see in this picture but Palazzo Blu really is blue! It is located in the middle of Pisa along the Arno river (on the right side in the above picture).

Admission to the museum is free. We found that there were two exhibits and the more interesting one proved to be works by costume designer Anna Anni. She created the costumes for many of operas and plays directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

These are ballet costumes. Unfortunately the pictures do not do them justice. They are incredibly ornate creations with rich materials and intricate needlework.

These are costumes created for the opera Mephistopheles. The Palazzo Blu building was as interesting as the exhibits. The base of this staircase is solid green marble.

 This is the ceiling in the first room we visited.

 On the wall you can see a couple of Gentileschi's works. 

 Again, the exhibit room was just gorgeous and beautifully maintained.

This was my favorite room with a lot of faux painting on the walls. It had the allusion of draped fabric. 

 This is a closer view of the elaborate pattern in the fabric painted on the wall.

 There were a number of smaller works displayed that had nothing to do with either of the major exhibits. This was my favorite--a small picture of a young woman gazing along the coast with the ducks waddling behind. I would love to have it in my home.

 There were also some lovely pieces of furniture of which the above is just one example. Of particular interest in this cabinet is a collection of pottery--probably Etruscan.

We only spent about an hour in the museum but it was well worth the visit. Afterwards we strolled back to our car which was across the river and found a gelateria. Somehow all our excursions involve gelato at some point. :-) 

Next post: To Cortona for a Cronoscalata