Palais Fesch, Fine Arts Museum
The Palais Fesch, Musée des Beaux-Arts, presents the most important collection of Italian paintings in France after the Louvre!
Three major collections stand out: the primitives, notably Botticelli and Bellini; Roman Baroque painting (Poussin, Pozzo, Baciccio) and Neapolitan Baroque painting.
These major holdings are complemented by other collections: northern and central Italian painting (Titian, Veronese), Nordic painting, Napoleonic painting (Gérard) and Corsican painting.
The Palais Fesch regularly organizes themed temporary exhibitions.
Visitor's route
Today, the museum houses no fewer than 350 paintings. You can discover this marvellous collection on 4 levels and in chronological order.
Start your visit with the Italian Primitives on the second floor and finish on the ground floor with Corsican painting.
The Imperial Chapel, the southern wing of the Palais Fesch
In the middle of the 19th century, the southern wing of the Fesch Palace was still to be built and its site was destined for the erection of a funeral church. It was Cardinal Fesch who came up with the idea of such a burial place.
The building was designed by the architects Alexis Paccard and Jean Caseneuve. The chapel, made of Saint-Florent stone, was built in a neo-renaissance style, on a Latin cross plan. The interior, the work of Jerome Maglioli, is entirely decorated with grisaille paintings depicting priestly attributes and floral motifs. The tombs are covered with black marble engraved by Champollion-Figeac. The stained glass windows bear the "F" of the cardinal's name and their decoration combines his ecclesiastical attributes with the symbols of the Empire: the Eagle and the Legion of Honour.
On June 5 1860, Abbé Versini became the imperial chapel's first chaplain, and proceeded to bless it on Sunday September 9 of the same year.
The Municipal Library, the north wing of the Palais Fesch
The creation of Ajaccio's municipal library dates back to the dawn of the 19th century. It was the idea of Lucien Bonaparte, then Minister of the Interior in the consular government. He commissioned André-François Miot, Administrator of Corsica, to collect the first 12,310 volumes from various Parisian religious congregations and the royal residences of Meudon and Marly.
Most of these are history books (3,608 titles), but there are also literary works (1,557 titles) and theological works (1,400 titles). The library's holdings continue to grow from year to year.
In May 1865, the great library, as we know it today, was inaugurated. It was designed by the architect Jérôme Maglioli.
Closed for renovation
Who was Cardinal Fesch?
1763, Joseph Fesch was born in Ajaccio; he was the younger half-brother of Letizia Bonaparte, mother of Emperor Napoleon.
1787, he was appointed archpriest of Ajaccio cathedral.
During the French Revolution, he left Corsica with the Bonaparte family. Deprived of resources, he followed his nephew Napoleon on the Italian campaign. This period marked the beginning of his financial affluence and his passion for art.
1802, Joseph Fesch returned to the ecclesiastical state and was appointed Archbishop of Lyon, Primate of the Gauls. He is elevated to the rank of cardinal.
In 1803, he was appointed French ambassador to the Holy See. His negotiation of the coronation ceremony with Pope Pius VII earned him the position of Grand Chaplain of the Empire.
In 1805, as the conflict between Napoleon I and the Pope escalated, Cardinal Fesch was forced to resign from his embassy to the Holy See. On his return to Paris, he held a number of important religious posts.
After the fall of the Empire and his exile to Rome in 1815, he retained several posts and devoted himself to pious activities, while enriching his collection. He regularly purchased numerous works, often by lot.
1839, death of Cardinal Fesch. He left behind an ensemble of 16,000 paintings, nearly a thousand of which form the core of the Palais Fesch collection.