The Museum of Art and Ethnography in Calafat is a remarkable building located right in the center of the town, also known as the Marincu Palace.  It was built according to the plans of the French architect Paul Gottereau, famous at the beginning of the 20th century in Romania. The builders were Italian craftsmen, led by the engineer Pietro Adotti. The foundation stone was laid in the fall of 1904, the construction being completed three years later and being inaugurated in 1908. The architecture was made in the neo-classical style of the French Baroque, with influences of the Romanian architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. The building occupies an area of 8,330 square meters, having inside almost 50 rooms structured on three levels. The total cost amounted then to the huge sum of one million gold coins. However, the fate of this building is a sad one, related to the daughter of the Marincu family, a child of a special musical genius, who died at the age of 13 due to tuberculosis. Overwhelmed by this immense pain, father Stefan Marincu decided to erect this wonderful palace, in memory of his daughter Marioara. However, the family tragedy will not stop here, because Stefan Marincu himself died of tuberculosis after several years. By testament he donated the palace to the local community, with the obligation to operate a girls’ school here, as a tribute to his daughter. In 1926, the palace became property of Calafat Town Hall and functioned as St. Mary’s Girls’ School, and later served as a kindergarten. Later the palace hosted the courses of the Agricultural School of Calafat and was host for various administrative services. Since 1967, the Museum of Art and Ethnography operates in this building. Currently, the museum has a rich collection of art objects exhibited in permanent exhibitions, but also organizes personal exhibitions of contemporary artists from the country and abroad. In September 2012, a section of Calafat history was inaugurated here, realized with the support of the descendants of the Marincu family and who made important donations to the museum. The Marincu Palace is an impressive legacy that the noble Marincu family, so severly tested by fate, generously left to the community in which it lived. Due to the cultural and social events it hosts, this edifice can be considered one of the most important cultural centers for the entire Danube region.