Life at the Palace

Among the most curious objects on display at the Palace are two bracelets (from the 19th century) made of carved wood, modeled as boxing gloves into which one could slip their arm. They were used as ‘rackets’ in the game of “palla col bracciale” (ball with the bracelet). The bronze mortar features a relief decoration depicting a battle scene between knights on one side and a divided coat of arms with a hammer and a rampant lion on the other, confirming the family surname mentioned in the inscription, “Giulio Cesare Martelli 1673.” In the first room, on the upper floor, there is a small table whose top was originally an altar frontal from a church. Another scagliola slab, instead, serves as a gaming table with depicted playing cards. Among various pocket and table watches, the Lantern Clock from the 17th century stands out, preserving its original gears and striking mechanism at the top. In the museum, there are also various coin cabinets, a kind of miniature chest of drawers, often decorated, to be placed on other furniture, real objects of refined elegance. The palace was equipped with a toilet, inserted in a tiny hidden space behind a door: it consisted of a seat with a flush. The preservation of food exploited the basement where it was possible to store the snow collected during winter to have a cool space during the summer months.