Palazzo Lanfranchi

This palazzo, which looks onto the Lungarno Galilei, bears the name of one of Pisa's most illustrious families, lead players in aristocratic circles and in every branch of civic and political life. It was a member of the latter, canon Alessandro Lanfranchi, who purchased the bankside building in 1539, beginning an important reconstruction project which cohered its various parts into more or less the edifice that we see today.

A first layout was given to the building in the early fourteenth century by the then owner Betto Stefani, a Pisan wool merchant. Dating from the same period are the dark grey paintings that are still visible on some of the palazzo walls: a decoration which, in its fur-like aspect, was meant to attest to the wealth of its owner. After Lanfranchi's sixteenth-century remodelling – an operation which crowned a brilliant ecclesiastical career and testified to the economic power of its prime mover – later owners did not substantially change the palazzo’s appearance.

Today this historical building in Pisa houses the Museum of Graphics and Drawing, which boasts one of the most important public collections of contemporary graphics. Thanks to the permanent collections and the offer of temporary exhibitions, the Museum is an important center for the study of contemporary art.

Accessibility information: museodellagrafica.sma.unipi.it