Gavotti Palace and Monte Di Pietà Palace
savona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
In the heart of Savona's historic center stands Palazzo Gavotti, an elegant aristocratic residence that reflects more than three centuries of urban history. Built in the seventeenth century on earlier medieval structures, the palace retains the name of the family that owned it until 1772, when they donated it to the Opera Pia di Nostra Signora di Misericordia so it could be used as an accomodation place for distinguished visitors heading to the shrine.
With the Unification of Italy in 1861, the City Council purchased the building and turned it into the seat of City Hall until 1934. During those same years, it also housed the Civic Library, thus becoming a hub of Savona's public and cultural life. The interiors preserve frescoes by the painter Antonio Novaro, while the façade on Chabrol Square was transformed in 1860.
Since 2003, Palazzo Gavotti has kept Savona’s Pinacoteca Civica, divided into 22 rooms, where works ranging from the Middle Ages to contemporary art are preserved.
Next to the latter is the elegant Palazzo del Monte di Pietà. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, but it was in 1479, at the behest of Pope Sixtus IV, that the building was transformed into the headquarters of the Monte di Pietà, an institution aimed at offering pawn loans to the poorer sections of the population.
Today, the two palaces form a unique urban museum hub for the city, chronicling its history and traditions.
THIS PLACE IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
Today, the Pawnshop houses the important Savona Museum of Ceramics, which tells the story of the millennia-old local craft tradition related to ceramics.
Savona, in fact, is one of the historical capitals of this tradition, active since the Middle Ages and flourishing from the seventeenth century onward, giving rise to true decorative masterpieces that were exported throughout Europe. The museum now preserves ancient and modern ceramics, handcrafted artifacts, and design works, offering an itinerary that ranges from historical majolica to contemporary artist ceramics.
A special feature of great artistic value can be found in the Sala degli Ufficiali del Monte, located in the palace's 15th-century wing, where a cycle of frescoes attributed to the painter Lorenzo Fasolo is preserved. Depicted here are symbolic scenes such as the Annunciation, the Pietà, and especially the precious image of Our Lady of Mercy, who welcomes kneeling benefactors under her cloak. This is an important testimony to the original identity and social role of the Mount of Mercy as a place of support and justice.