Venue

The exhibition itinerary of the Association for Art and Culture – “Casamonti Collection” is housed within San Giorgio Palace (formerly known as Villa San Giorgio), a prestigious historic building constructed between 1875 and 1877 on Lungarno Serristori, running parallel to the River Arno, and originally part of the neighbouring Serristori Palace.

The building, commissioned by the Serristori family and designed by the architect Eugenio Falciani, comprises a total of four floors; however, the spaces dedicated to public access and the exhibition of artworks are located exclusively on the ground floor and in the underground level. The ground floor is characterised by a series of eleven arches, now entirely glazed following the recent restoration and refurbishment carried out by the firm Archea Associati.

Over the years, the Palace has undergone profound transformations, reflecting the historical and social changes in the city of Florence. The building was originally constructed as an investment property. The main body of the building housed ten shops on the ground floor and three large flats on the upper floors. Subsequently, the complex was converted into a hotel, a business that continued until after the Second World War. In the second half of the 20th century, the owners decided to convert the property into a boarding school run by a religious order; although this project never got off the ground, the building served for a long time as a hall of residence for female university students. Traces of this period remain in the land registry records, which document the addition of a chapel on the ground floor that no longer exists. Subsequently, the Serristori family let the property to the Municipality of Florence, which for many years used it as the headquarters for the Municipal Police and the Annona.

The recent transformation, brought about by major restoration and enhancement works, has laid the foundations for its cultural rebirth and its opening to the public.