The Dumitru Panaitescu Perpessicius Memorial House (Casa Memorială Dumitru Panaitescu Perpessicius) is a literary museum in Brăila, housed in the reconstructed birthplace of the Romanian poet, literary critic, and historian Dumitru Panaitescu (1891-1971), better known by his pen name Perpessicius. Part of Brăila Museum Carol I, it preserves personal belongings, manuscripts, books, and furniture documenting his life and work.
The house was originally built around 1890 for his parents, Ștefan and Ecaterina Panaitescu, and Perpessicius spent his childhood and school years here before leaving for university studies in Bucharest in 1910. He returned to live with his family in 1920-1921, while teaching Romanian and French at a local teacher-training school. Over the following decades, he established himself as a leading Romanian literary critic, becoming particularly known for his scholarly edition of the works of Mihai Eminescu. He later served as director of the Romanian Academy Library and founded the Museum of Romanian Literature in Bucharest.
Following his death in 1971, a commemorative plaque was placed on the house, which had been reconstructed according to its original plans. A donation of books, documents, and furniture from his son, Dumitru D. Panaitescu, subsequently made it possible to establish a permanent memorial exhibition, inaugurated on October 28, 1977. The collection expanded considerably in 1982 with the acquisition of approximately 7,000 volumes from Perpessicius’s personal library. After repairs and the reconstruction of the courtyard annex, the museum reopened in 1994 with additional exhibition space.
The exhibition recreates several domestic interiors, including Perpessicius’s study, his childhood bedroom, and a reception room furnished with objects from the family collection. His desk, books, writing instruments, photographs, and personal belongings are displayed alongside manuscripts and notebooks from his literary research. Particularly interesting are the handwritten materials from his edition of Eminescu’s works and the magnifying lenses he used to decipher difficult manuscripts. The museum also preserves drawings, early schoolwork, and personal objects such as his military uniform, camera, and alarm clock.
In the courtyard stands a marble bust of Perpessicius created by Brăila-born sculptor Nicăpetre. The restored annex houses additional museum facilities, while a separate exhibition area accommodates temporary displays devoted to the writer and Romanian literary history.
