The history of the museum

At the end of the 50ies, after years of abandonment and improper use, it was finally possible to restore the palace by Vignola and the Visconti citadel and to transform it into the suitable location where to display the historical and arts collections of Piacenza.

With this aim, in 1965,  ‘Ente per il restauro e l’utilizzazione di Palazzo Farnese’ (Board for the restoration of Palazzo Farnese) was born , founded by ‘Ente Provinciale per il Turismo’ (Province Tourist Board), ‘Comune di Piacenza’ (Municipality of Piacenza), ‘Provincia’ ( Province) and ‘Camera di Commercio’ (Chamber of Commerce). The appointed chairman was sen. Alberto Spigaroli, who stayed in charge until his death in August 2014.
The first works were dedicated to the plastering of the interiors and the cleaning of the beautiful stuccoes of the three floors of the eastern side rooms. Besides, the floors of these rooms were restored or remade.
At the beginning of the 90ies the rooms on the first floor were finally suitable to gather and display the collections of the art gallery, and the following parts of the palace were also restored: the ducal chapel, the basement, the building leaning on the yard, the outer façades of the palace; what is more, the valuable paving of the great yard was also remade.