Picture gallery of Fiemme

The palace housing the art gallery of the "Magnifica Comunità Generale di Fiemme" in Cavalese is one of Trentino's most emblematic architectural works and undoubtedly an eloquent symbol of the millenia past of the local populations' self-administration and autonomy.

Today the palace hosts the Pinacoteca della Magnifica Comunità Generale di Fiemme, an art gallery exhibiting paintings of the most famous exponents of the Fiemme School of painting, a group of artists active from the mid-17th century to the end of the 19th century. The exhibition starts with some of the most important legal documents of the Comunità, such as original works and ancient copies of the first Statutes of the valley along with minor documents concerning everyday family life.

An important parchment, the "Privilegio Enriciano" in which prince bishop Enrico III conferred rights and autonomy to the Comunità, is conserved in the museum as well. Its frescoed facade depicts the antico stemma (literally the ancient coat of arms) composed of six white stripes covered by a cross, which was awarded to the Comunità by bishop Lodovico Madruzzo in 1588.

It is possible to visit also the prisons from the 19th century with their numerous notches telling about the lives of the prisoners.