Palazzo Bonomi-Gera, home to the Pinacoteca (Art Gallery) and Gipsoteca (Plaster Cast Gallery), stands in the heart of the Agello district. It was designed for his family in the late 17th century by Luzio Bonomi (Ripatransone, 1669–1739). Between 1963 and 1966, the building was purchased by Uno Gera, who had it restored and largely returned to its original architectural state, despite the alterations and structural changes it had previously undergone.
The building’s style is restrained and austere; the rear section echoes the façade of Villa Falconieri in Frascati, while the sandstone portal, topped by a small balcony, serves as the main decorative feature of the brick façade; the doorway itself boasts a beautiful wooden lunette. Donated to the Municipality by Gera in 1971, the building has housed the Gipsoteca and the Gera Art Collection since 1976, and, since 1977, the Civic Art Gallery (Pinacoteca Civica) as well as collections of majolica, porcelain, and historical and ethnographic artifacts.
The arrangement of the collections remains essentially as Uno Gera intended; he preferred to furnish a patrician palazzo with artworks rather than create a conventional art gallery. Currently, the building houses approximately one thousand works by around 70 different artists, spanning from the 15th century to the present day. Upon entering the building and passing through the beautiful stained-glass window created in 1994 by Giovanni Capriotti of Ripatransone, visitors can admire two 19th-century cassoni (large chests) donated by Gera, along with two of his own plaster sculptures from 1969: *Ceres* in the right-hand niche and *Venus* in the left.
The ground floor primarily houses contemporary works. The first room on the left is dedicated to the “sculptor of the wind,” Pericle Fazzini; this room, originally arranged while the artist was still alive, was renovated in 1996 and houses 30 of his works. The second room on the left is dedicated to the painter and sculptor Remo Brindisi, featuring three canvases from his “La preda” (The Prey) series, as well as various etchings and screen prints. Also housed on the ground floor are 22 canvases by the local painter Giuseppe Canali, donated to the municipality in 1992, and works by various other artists such as Annigoni, Piacesi, Marchegiani, Marziali, Meconi, Capponi, and Pulcini. Artists depicting local views include Andreoli, Erani, Mascaretti, Perrotta, and Romano, alongside the Offida-born artist Sergiacomi, represented by the sculpture “Lode al Signore” (Praise to the Lord, 1982).
Hundreds of works are housed in the Pinacoteca (art gallery) in the traditional sense of the term. The palace’s Grand Ballroom, featuring a painted coffered ceiling, tempera-decorated walls, and a musicians' gallery, displays a collection of over 300 pieces of majolica and porcelain. These date primarily from the 17th to the 19th centuries and originate from various locations, including the East. In the center of the hall stands the “Madonna Enthroned” (1524), a terracotta work by Gianfrancesco Gagliardelli. The 35 surviving fragments of another fine terracotta piece, an altarpiece by Fra Mattia Della Robbia that had shattered, are also preserved here. The palace’s most beautiful room, the only one featuring both a painted coffered ceiling and a painted frieze beneath it, houses a collection of fine furniture, mostly from the 18th century, which was another generous gift from Uno Gera.
The Uno Gera Plaster Cast Gallery, set up in 1976 by the artist and patron himself using his own works, occupies two rooms on the *piano nobile* (main floor). Chronologically, the works span from the 1920s to the 1970s; also on display are sketches for sculptures created in Ripatransone and elsewhere.
The Portrait Gallery is located along the staircase connecting the floors; it houses 35 portraits, mostly of notable figures or bishops from Ripatransone who lived between the 16th and 19th centuries, drawn from the municipal collection that predates the museum and art gallery's founding in 1977.
Historical-Ethnographic Museum. The palace's top floor houses a diverse and interesting array of material typical of a historical-ethnographic museum. The collection includes: coins and medals; autographs, correspondence, and memorabilia belonging to Luigi Mercantini, alongside artifacts from the Risorgimento and World War I; medieval objects; a collection of autographs from famous figures; magistrates' costumes; devotional and liturgical items; ethnographic curiosities from regions including Africa and Latin America; and an armory collection comprising approximately 200 weapons from various eras.
The same building also houses the Museum of Garibaldian Tradition, a collection of around 100 items, including memorabilia, photographs, and documents.
Sources: https://www.visitripatransone.it/pinacoteca-civica/
Photo:https://www.visitripatransone.it/palazzo-bonomi-gera-polo-museale/#