The Famous painter and antiquarian Elia Volpi donated Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera to the town in 1912 and the Pinacoteca Comunale found a home in its elegant rooms. The building date from serveral periods but was completed in the early 1500’s, it is a namedafter the foundary and cannon stone that were in the area.

It was constructed to celebrate the wedding of Alessandro Vitelli and Paola Rossi from San Secondo Parmense and I a fine example of a renaissance vill. The graffiti decorations on the garden façade are of great importance. They  were carried out by Cristofano Gherardi, called il Doceneo, using Vasari’s drawings.

The most ancient painting in the museum is the large panel by Maestro di Città di Castello who was a follower of Duccio di Boninsegna. There are also important works by Raphael, Luca Signorelli, Pomarancio and Raffaellino del Colle.

There is a fine collection of Della Robbia works mostly from the workshop of Andrea. In 2005 the new wing of the museum was inaugurated giving space to three  important donations: the Elmo Palazzi collection, the Bruno Bartoccini bronzes and the Ruggeri Collection. The 20° century master including de Chirico, Carrà and Gosttuso are on display.