Pinacoteca Civica di Jesi (Palazzo Pianetti)

The Pinacoteca Civica di Jesi occupies the Palazzo Pianetti, an 18th-century aristocratic palace in the walled town of Jesi, in the Ancona province of the Marche. The palace is worth visiting for its architecture alone: its showpiece is the Galleria degli Stucchi, a sumptuous Rococo gallery some seventy-six metres long, lavishly decorated with gilded stuccowork, mirrors, and allegorical frescoes, regarded as one of the finest Rococo interiors in the region. Within this setting the town's civic art collection is displayed, and its undisputed highlight is a remarkable group of paintings by Lorenzo Lotto, the great Venetian-born artist who worked extensively in the Marche in the early 16th century. The Lotto holdings include his 'Deposition' of 1512, the 'Pala di Santa Lucia' of 1532, and other altarpieces, together forming one of the most important concentrations of his work anywhere. The gallery also holds paintings by other masters and decorative arts. The town around the palace is itself notable: enclosed by well-preserved medieval walls, Jesi was, by tradition, the birthplace of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, born on 26 December 1194, reputedly in a tent erected in the square that now bears his name, Piazza Federico II. Admission to the Pinacoteca is €5 for adults and €3 for those aged 6 to 25, with multi-museum passes available. Opening hours are longer in summer than in winter, and the gallery is closed on Mondays outside the high season. Jesi is also the centre of the Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi wine district, making the town a good base for combining art with the surrounding vineyards. Allow around an hour to an hour and a half.