Palazzo delle Papesse is reborn thanks to Opera Laboratori. Beppe Costa, President and CEO of the company, signed this morning the purchase agreement with Banca d’Italia for the historic residence of Caterina and Laudomia, sisters of Pope Pius II. The leading Italian museum management company has acquired the prestigious property through a group company and will work to reposition the building, one of the most iconic in the city of Siena, at the center of Italian cultural institutions.
A project for the reopening of the Palazzo is already in place, with an exhibition by Julio Le Parc – Argentine sculptor and painter, a prominent figure in kinetic art and Op Art, and a staunch defender of human rights – set to open just after the summer in collaboration with Galleria Continua. Julio Le Parc’s works are displayed in major museums and galleries around the world, and his influence on contemporary art is recognized internationally.
Through its management, Opera Laboratori aims to trace a path of cultural rebirth that will bring international art exhibitions and events to the heart of Siena, in a building that has been a landmark for many years. In 2025, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the first Sienese exhibition and thirty years since the death of Hugo Pratt, a major exhibition dedicated to the comic book artist and writer “father” of Corto Maltese will be organized. The exhibition, curated by Patrizia Zanotti and Patrick Amsellem, with the project designed by architect Giovanni Mezzedimi, will be produced by Opera Laboratori and will be the first stop on a journey through important Italian museum venues.
“The intuition – comments Beppe Costa – shared with Daniele Petrucci, former managing director, and Stefano Di Bello, chief operating officer of Opera Laboratori, represents not only a significant step for our company but is also an investment in the world of culture. Palazzo delle Papesse will engage with all Italian and international cultural institutions and invite its guests to look towards the Future.”
The willingness to collaborate was immediately embraced by the mayor of Siena, Prof.ssa Nicoletta Fabio, who stated: “A great opportunity for the city. I am happy that this news arrives on the same day we presented the cultural programming of Santa Maria della Scala. A new, dynamic, and constructive vitality is forming in this city, thanks to the synergy between all the involved parties. With Opera Laboratori, we have established an excellent collaborative and respectful relationship from the start, and I believe that the path we have set is the right one.”
Palazzo delle Papesse reveals its new visual identity today, designed by Lorenzo De Rita, a long-time creative director (who has managed communication campaigns for international clients such as Nike, Adidas, and Volvo) and his design team at The Phosphorescent Room, a Center for Imagination Studies. Three words have been chosen to represent the Palazzo’s identity: vision, openness, and plurality. Naturally, the most illustrious spokesperson for this identity is Galileo Galilei, who once crossed the threshold of the Palazzo.
Palazzo delle Papesse, through its exhibitions, will offer new “visions” and ways to view art and culture, inviting viewers to see with new eyes: “eyes that want to see and believe in what they see…” (Galileo Galilei).
The word “openness” describes the soul of the Palazzo: there is still the open-mindedness of Galileo and his way of interpreting science, but also that of Pius II’s sister, Caterina Piccolomini. A woman who “despite everything,” going against the norms and customs of her time, built and organized the building that will soon be returned to the public.
Just as Caterina was a woman of open views, so Palazzo delle Papesse must become a symbol of open-mindedness, inclusivity, and participation, where artists can “go beyond and imagine cities that do not exist on maps, where no human being is a stranger” (Pope Francis, speech to artists at the Venice Biennale).
“Plurality” is perhaps the most representative of the three key words chosen. Plurality is in the name of the Palazzo, in the number of crescent moons in the Piccolomini emblem, in the number of inhabitants and functions that have evolved over time, but also in its ability to engage with different city and territorial institutions. A project that intertwines the Piccolomini “crescents” with Galileo’s eyes to offer many views of the Future.
Historical Notes of the Building
The Piccolomini Palace is called “delle Papesse” because it was commissioned by the sisters of Pius II. Enea Silvio Piccolomini, elected pope, stayed in Siena at least three times during his six-year pontificate, with two particularly long stays between 1459 and 1460. During these visits, Pius II began designing some residences for the family, such as the two imposing palaces on Via di Città and Banchi di Sotto, along with a Loggia and a funerary chapel, symbols of Enea Silvio’s ambitious dynastic policy. The first architectural commissions date back to 1459, specifically for the residence of his sister Caterina, widow of Bartolomeo Guglielmi, who, with her brother’s election to the papacy, had the opportunity to reclaim her maiden name. The family lineage is evidenced by the “patronymic” of the palace called “delle Papesse,” partly inspired by the Medici Palace on Via Larga in Florence, with its rusticated stonework and large rounded ground-floor portals, while the twin windows with pointed arches still retain some elements of the Sienese Gothic style. The attribution of the design, traditionally assigned to Bernardo Rossellino, the Piccolomini architect in Pienza, remains problematic and unresolved. Documents related to the construction, which lasted about three decades, more frequently mention Antonio Federighi, one of the most notable Renaissance sculptors and architects from Siena, who was at least a supervisor of the work.
A descendant of the Piccolomini, Archbishop Ascanio, hosted Galileo Galilei at Palazzo delle Papesse after his condemnation by the Holy Office in 1633. During his stay in Siena, the scientist worked on the composition of Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche intorno a due nuove scienze (Discourses and Demonstrations on Two New Sciences), published in Holland in 1638 to evade the censorship of the Inquisition. This text perfected studies on the principles of mechanics that would later assist Newton in formulating his law of universal gravitation. Mathematician Teofilo Gallaccini recorded Galileo’s six lunar observations made from the Palazzo’s loggia in August. Using a telescope, the great scientist discovered that the moon was neither perfect nor spherical as previously believed but was covered with mountains and craters.
Opera Laboratori Press Office
Andrea Acampa T +39 055290383 – M +39 3481755654 – a.acampa@operalaboratori.com
Andrea Ceccherini T +39 0577530032 – M +39 339254577 – a.ceccherini@operalaboratori.com
Giacomo Luchini T +39 0577530032 – M +39 3494942535 – g.luchini@operalaboratori.com
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