Layout and collections
The visitor route
The exhibition layout of Palazzo Fortuny stands today as a testament to the brilliant creative capacity of Mariano Fortuny and Henriette Nigrin, bridging re-elaboration, experimentation, and innovation, as well as their prominent role in the international intellectual and artistic scene at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Ground Floor
The monumental portal on Campo San Beneto marks the entrance to the ground floor of Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, the residence of the Fortuny family from 1898 to 1965. The large space, characterized by the original 14th-century exposed brick walls, now houses the ticket office, the Museum Store, and the museum’s temporary exhibitions. This area is dedicated to contemporary art – installations, videos, performances, and photography – with a special focus on avant-garde languages that dialogue with the history of the palazzo. It hosts both site-specific projects and selections from the Foundation’s permanent collections.
The ground-floor itinerary is further enriched by exhibition spaces created within ancient niches, located along the corridor leading to the evocative Gothic internal courtyard.
Next to the main entrance, visitors will find the cloakroom and access to the upper floors via a traditional small wooden staircase. This staircase leads up to the first mezzanine, where explanatory panels and videos introduce the history of the building and the story of the Fortuny y Madrazo family.
First floor, Museum House
Crossing the threshold of the first floor of Palazzo Fortuny means entering a world where painting, theatre, fashion, and light merge into a single, extraordinary artistic vision. The first floor still preserves the soul of the house-museum conceived by Mariano and Henriette.
From the atmosphere of the Portego to the revolutionary innovations in the field of fashion, passing through the majestic stage designs inspired by Richard Wagner: an immersive journey through the inventions of a 20th-century genius, capable of uniting the deepest classical tradition with the avant-gardes of modernity.
Second floor, Mariano Fortuny's ateliers
On the second floor, Mariano’s skills and experiments in multiple artistic fields are re-proposed: an approach to his creations from behind the scenes.
The genius of the Spanish artist is exemplified in four focuses: engraving, printing on fabric, photography, theatre and lighting. On this floor it is possible to visit for the first time the study-library of Fortuny, a casket full of precious things, objects, curiosities, tolls and rare books on art and technique.
