We had limited expectations when we visited the small civic museum in Fano, but were nevertheless pleasantly surprised. The museum is housed in the Palazzo Malatestiano, a fifteenth-century mansion that is a curious mixture of styles. It bears the name of the family that ruled over Fano between the second half of the fourteenth century and the year 1463, and was largely built on the orders of Pandolfo III Malatesta (1370-1427). Pandolfo became Lord of Fano when he was just fifteen years old. Like his father Galeotto I Malatesta he was a successful condottiero (mercenary captain). Condottieri sold their services to the highest bidder, so it should not come as a surprise that one moment Pandolfo fought for the Visconti of Milan and the next against those very same Visconti in the service of the Venetians. Today we may still admire his funerary monument in the church of San Francesco in Fano.
Palazzo Malatestiano.
On the ground floor of the Palazzo Malatestiano we find the archaeological museum of the town. I have already discussed it in a previous post. The Pinacoteca with its collection of paintings is located on the first floor. We climbed the stairs and stumbled upon the original statue of the goddess Fortuna, which was replaced with a replica on the central square of Fano (ancient Fanum Fortunae). Donnino Ambrosi’s statue looked like it could do with a little maintenance, and fortunately the decision seems to have been taken to restore it.
The Pinacoteca basically comprises just one room, the Sala Morganti. It is named after the local painters Bartolomeo and Pompeo Morganti, a father and son who lived and worked in the sixteenth century. Their large and colourful panel painting from 1534 can be found against the entrance wall of the room. There is a lot to see in the painting. In the lower section the painters depicted the Raising of Lazarus and the sisters Mary and Martha of Bethany, while in the sky Saint Michael the Archangel fights the devil. In the same room we find works by Giovanni Santi (ca. 1440-1494), father of the much more famous Raphael, by Domenico Zampieri, also known as Domenichino (1581-1641), and by Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589-1657). The museum moreover possesses paintings by Mattia Preti (1613-1699) – a Knight Hospitaller and follower of Caravaggio – and by Matteo Loves. The latter is somewhat obscure. He was probably born in England, although the Pinacoteca mentions the German city of Cologne as his place of birth. His family, however, was definitely English. In Italy, Loves became a student of Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, nicknamed Guercino (1591-1666). He lived and worked in Cento in the Emilia-Romagna.
L’Angelo Custode – Guercino.
The nickname Guercino means “Squinter”. The Pinacoteca also possesses one of Squinter’s works, which is known as L’Angelo Custode, the guardian angel. It was painted in 1641 and inspired the English poet Robert Browning (1812-1889) to write his poem The Guardian-Angel – a picture at Fano. Browning was still able to see the painting at its original location, the church of Sant’Agostino in Fano. This church was largely destroyed by an Allied bombardment in 1943, but fortunately Guercino’s work was saved.
In a smaller room adjacent to the Sala Morganti I found – apart from biographical information about Pandolfo III Malatesta – a polyptych by Michele Giambono, a painter from Venice who was active in his hometown between ca. 1420 and 1462. His Madonna and Child with several saints from ca. 1420-1425 is unfortunately rather damaged. Not much remains, for instance, of the saint in the top right corner (a bishop). Nevertheless, most saints can still be identified quite well. In the lower register we see, from left to right, Saints Jerome, Michael the Archangel, James the Great, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul. Michele Giambono added some lovely details. Note for instance how Saint Jerome, recognisable by his red cardinal’s hat, almost seems to be stepping out of his frame. He is the only one whose head is off-centre. Another beautiful detail is the text in the book of Saint James, who is depicted with a pilgrim’s hat and staff. In the book we read the Marian hymn Salve Regina. The smaller saints of the upper register are not attributed to Michele Giambono, but to the mysterious Maestro di Roncaiette. Unfortunately, the museum does not provide us with any information about the provenance of the polyptych. Perhaps it once stood in a church dedicated to Saint Jerome (San Gerolamo)? The scale model of a church at the feet of this saint could be a clue that this was indeed the case.
Polyptych by Michele Giambono.
Source: Bradt travel guide Umbria & the Marche (2021), p. 281.