Only the Louvre in Paris can match the number of Italian paintings displayed in Musée Fesch. Its array of Napoleonic and Renaissance works of art is among the world’s most acclaimed. The city’s main fine arts museum is housed in the majestic 19th-century Fesch Palace, which also has a huge library and a chapel where the gallery’s founding members are buried.

Ask ahead of your visit about guided tours conducted in English. Admire masterpieces by famous artists, such as Botticelli, Rembrandt and Poussin. Learn about the various art schools and eras that shaped Italian art. You will also find many works by French, Spanish, German and Dutch masters.

Enjoy the intriguing works by lesser-known artists from between the 14th and 19th centuries. Travelling exhibitions cover a range of topics in art and history. Look through the intriguing collections of artifacts, such as medals and a sword, from the Bonaparte and Fesch families. 

Visit the Chapelle Impériale to see the crypt where many former members of the Fesch family lie. Enter through the grand arch beneath a classical pediment and cross. The structure, which is made of Saint Florent stone and was completed in 1860, was built to comply with the last wishes of the museum’s founder.

Browse the enormous library and leaf through some of the 50,000 tomes relating to art, literature, history and many other themes.The gallery is named after its founder, Cardinal Joseph Fesch, who belonged to a noble family. The maternal uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte and a renowned art lover, he donated more than 1,000 works to the museum from his personal collection.

The reasonable fee for entrance to the museum has a large discount for children. The museum closes on Tuesdays and otherwise generally runs from morning until late afternoon.

Ajaccio’s main landmarks surround Musée Fesch in the heart of the city. See the Congress Palace and the Bonaparte House Museum after spending a few hours in the gallery. The museum is just across the road from the port where Toulon ferries arrive.