About the permanent exhibition
Two most significant collections from the Art Collections of Mali Lošinj are on display in the Fritzi Palace – The Piperata Collection of Old Masters in the Great Hall on the first floor and the Collection of Croatian Masters of Andro Vid Mihičić on the third floor. Both collections bear the strong stamp of their creators, yet the circumstances these collections grew out of are very different.
The Piperata Collection of Old Masters
The Piperata Collection of Old Masters contains 27 paintings by mostly Italian masters, made in the period from the end of the 16th century (Bassano workshop) to the beginning of the 20th century (Filippo de Pisis) and predominantly from the Baroque period, i.e. 17th and 18th century (Girolamo Forabosco, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri – Il Guercino, Antonio Carneo, Alessandro Magnasco, Francesco Solimena, Francesco Fontebasso). Beside paintings, the collection also consists of three chests and one chest of drawers from the Renaissance and Baroque period.
The collection was acquired by Giuseppe Piperata (Mali Lošinj, 1883 – Sondrio, Valtellina, 1976), a devoted physician and a passionate art lover. Although he started to collect works of art already as a student of medicine in Naples and Vienna, Piperata acquired the largest part of his collection during his service as a physician in Tarvisio in the 1930’s, knowingly browsing antique shops, cellars, and attics in Furlania and Veneto regions.
Political situation after the Second World War sets apart Giuseppe Piperata from his collection – he continues working in Italy while his collection remains in Mali Lošinj. After decades of negotiation, the authorities repurchased the collection in 1971. Over several years, all paintings have been restored to be permanently displayed in the Great Hall of the Fritzi Palace in December 1998, after 45 years-long “Odyssey”.
About the Fritzi Gallery
The Fritzi Palace has been hosting exhibitions since it was the seat of the Public Institution, i.e. the Adult Education Centre of Mali Lošinj. Until 1998 they were mostly organized in the Great Hall (Josip Botteri Dini, Josip Baće, and others) and later on in the gallery of the Great Hall (Jože Ciuha, Ivo Šebalj, Marija Ujević Galetović, and others) and on the walls of the corridors and stairways as well. The reconstruction of the third floor and the attic of the Palace during 2005 and 2006 gave Mali Lošinj the opportunity finally to have a proper town gallery.
Consequently, in August 2006 the Fritzi Gallery was solemnly opened on the ground floor by exhibition of paintings and graphics by Dubravka Babić. Since then a great number of exhibitions have been organized there, from art (Povratak I i Povratak II, Anton Horvatović, Massimo Tosello, Zdravko Kopas, Luka Duplančić, Mauro Stipanov, and others) and museum exhibitions (Lošinj Racing Boat and L5 Sailing Boat, Emanuel Vidović in the heritage of Andro Vid Mihičić, Croatian Graphics of the 20th century from Solis Collection), to guest exhibitions (Hydro-archaeological recognizing and explorations of the waters of Vrsar and Poreč Greek-Hellenistic ceramics of the Archaeological Museum in Split) and various events as well (lectures, presentations, parties, etc.). Gallery's Exhibition Program runs throughout the year. The Fritzi Gallery was placed among the reputable galleries in the Republic of Croatia.
WORKING HOURS
