As the art historian Antonio Paolucci recalls, Banca Cambiano 1884 understood something fundamental about this part of Italy, the Valdelsa. Here, economy and culture, protection of the territory and development, profit growth and contextual growing of education and knowledge, all work together to constitute a complex reality that is multifaceted, yet indivisible.
There are more than a thousand pieces in the collection. Amongst these, there are masterpieces of ancient, modern and contemporary art. The collection grows especially in the second half of the 1990s, with the acquisition of a remarkable series of canvases by painter Beppe Serafini.
A wide and diverse collection with a special attention to works by artists from Tuscany and, more specifically, from the Valdelsa. This highlights the centrality of the union between the bank and the Vadelsa, which began with the inhabitants of these lands.
The collection includes artworks by prestigious masters, from the 13th century until today, like Giovanni di Ser Giovanni (known as lo Scheggia), Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni, Taddeo di Bartolo, Gino Terreni, Sineo Gemignani, Tancredi Parmiggiani, Giuliano Ghelli, Giampiero Talani, Antonio Possenti, Marco Biorgianni, and many others, only seemingly less renowned.

The new Pottery Hall
In this hall the dialogue between art and craftsmanship, between tradition and experimentation, comes alive. The works on display tell of the art of ceramics as an expressive medium that combines functionality and beauty. The protagonist is the Taccini Brothers’ workshop, a symbol of Tuscanian excellence that reinterprets the Renaissance’s decorative language in a contemporary key. Alongside these creations, the spirituality of forms showcased by Angelo Biancini, who conveys a plastic experience with his glazed terracotta panels. Ivano Cerrai’s sculptures, inspired by the female world, interact with Salvatore Cipolla’s material experimentations, while Marco Borgianni explores classical forms with an essential style.
A section that highlights local excellencies and ceramics as a living and ever-evolving art form.

The new Leto Fratini Hall
This hall retraces the human and artistic story of Leto Fratini, a young sculptor from the Valdelsa area who was formed in 1930s Milan and is deeply connected to the 1900s cultural and political history. His art fits between the avant-gardes’ expressive tension and classical references, thus revealing an ongoing search for sense and inwardness. Involved in the antifascist network, Leto pays the price for his civil commitment with his life. Arrested on charges of spreading underground press, he will tragically die in Mombello’s psychiatric hospital. His sculptures offer an intense testimony of a generation poised between oppression and rebirth, art and resistance.