Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese.

Musei Civici di Palazzo Farnese - Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese, Piacenza, Provincia di Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Repubblica Italiana.

   On the ground floor, you can see a collection of ancient weapons; approximately four hundred pieces were collected by the Piacenza Count Antonio Parma (1787-1850) in the first half of the 19th century.

   The core of the collection consists of 16th-century weapons acquired in Parma and Mantua, as well as from several Piacenza noble families. In 1849, the Count donated his collection to the Gazzola Art Institute. Count Marazzani donated 12 oriental coats of arms to the same institute in 1856, and the remaining heraldic arms were subsequently transferred between 1885 and 1889. In the early 19th century, the entire collection was finally transferred to the Municipal Museum.

   The Pompeo della Cesa armor is the most beautiful piece in the collection, when viewed from the outside. It is engraved and gilded, with alternating blank and engraved sections. It consists of a tournament helmet, a three-plate neck guard, a two-plate throat piece, breastplates, backplates, and arm guards, missing only the fingers of the right glove. It also has leg guards but no shoes. It was made between 1580 and 1585, and the center of the cuirass bears the mark "Pompe," a mark used by the Milanese armorer Pompeo della Cesa to sign his creations. To understand Pompeo della Chiesa's fame, suffice it to say that he made armor for Duke Alessandro Farnese. The owners of this armor were the Counts of Dal Verme of Piacenza, from whom the collector acquired it.

The museum displays the works of famous masters:

Pompeo della Cesa, Milan, Italy.