Palazzo Biancalana is one of the main buildings overlooking Bettona’s central piazza and is next to palazzo del Podestà. It was built on the site of a pre-existing building and designed by Francesco Biancalana, who bought it in the early 19th century. He planned the reconstruction but died before it was completed, in 1859, as indicated on one of the bricks on the floor. The previous old building had adjoining gardens and a public passageway, but everything was demolished to make way for the aristocratic residence, which is characterized by a neo-16th-century style in use in 19th-century private buildings and a certain rhythmic spatial dimension typical of neoclassicism; other aspects, such as the railing and the entrance portal, which are not very ornate, are typical of the fin de siécle style.
The building is composed of two different materials, rusticated on the ground floor and plastered on the upper floors, while the balcony railing above the portal is in cast iron.
Today, part of the palazzo is home to the Museo della Città di Bettona: the left side of the ground floor houses the archaeological section, while the right hand half of the piano nobile, which also includes the living room with the fireplace, is a picture gallery.
It’s a peculiar fact that some of the museum’s works of art came were inherited from the last owner of the building, who would never have imagined such a turn of events. In 1920, Bianca Biancalana named Guido Cingolani as her universal heir, with the express wish that her assets “never be sold or exchanged or rented to the townsfolk.” Instead, after various vicissitudes, Biancalana assets were sold to the Municipality of Bettona in 1931, so fortunately for us, we can now admire them in their original location!