| Ducal Palace of Sassuolo | |
|---|---|
Palazzo ducale di Sassuolo | |
_-_Modena_03.JPG) Façade of the Ducal Palace of Sassuolo. | |
 Interactive map of Ducal Palace of Sassuolo | |
| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Architectural style | Italian Baroque |
| Location | Sassuolo,Province of Modena, Italy |
| Client | Francesco I d'Este |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Bartolomeo Avanzini |
| Website | |
| www.gallerie-estensi.beniculturali.it/palazzo-ducale | |
Error: Invalid designation | |
| Official name | Palazzo ducale di Sassuolo |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | Monument |
| State Party | Italy |
TheDucal Palace of Sassuolo (Italian:Palazzo ducale di Sassuolo) is aBaroque villa located in the town ofSassuolo, thirty minutes outsideModena,northern Italy.
The palace was built on the site of a medieval castle orrocca. Obtained byNiccolò III d'Este from the della Rosa family in the 15th century, and converted into a court residence byBorso d'Este in 1458.[1]
The exterior facade seems to referenceTuscan villas more than those of theVeneto. In the mid-16th century, the first pleasure summer villa was built on the site. In the early 17th century, the DukeFrancesco I d'Este commissioned the present building from the architectBartolomeo Avanzini. Over the centuries, the palace has had many owners, but is now owned by the town of Sassuolo and theGallerie Estensi, who contributed to the picture galleries the Orlando, Princess and Secchia apartments.[2]
The palace is best known for its highly decorated interior frescoes (1638–1656) by the French Este court painterJean Boulanger, as well as several perspectival ceilings byOttavio Vivani, Giacomo Cialdieri,Angelo Michele Colonna,Agostino Mitelli,Baldassare Bianchi andGiovanni Giacomo Monti. Lattanzio Maschio and Luca Colombi were also invited by Boulanger to work on the palace stucco decoration.Giovanni Lazzoni,Nicolas Régnier,Salvator Rosa, andLudovico Lana also contributed to the palace's art collection.
The palace is also known for its garden vistas reminiscent ofVersailles and its fancifulPeschiera or fish-tank. The latter was originally designed by Avanzini andGaspare Vigarani [de] as a large rectangular "pool" surrounded by a boundary wall in the form of a ruined amphitheatre, for which it earned its sobriquet the "Fontanazzo" (Rough Fountain).[3] Highlights of the complex also include larger-than-life fountain sculptures based on the designs ofGian Lorenzo Bernini and Renaissance fresco fragments byNicolò dell’Abbate recovered from the Scandiano palace in Reggio Emilia.
Restoration of thepiano nobile in 2001 has allowed the palace to be equally used as a space for contemporary art exhibitions, fusing past and present. Terminating the tour of the Duke and Duchesses’ private and public apartments on the first floor, theStuccoed apartments have hosted the exhibition “MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT” since 2003. The gilded reliefs previously framing the duke's favourite artworks shall house various minimalist pieces donated by thePanza collection until 2103.
·The Musicians of the Scandiano Room of Paradise frescoes byNicolò dell’Abbate
·Baptism of Christ by Luigi Anguissola
·Portrait of Francesco II d’Este by Andrea Baratta (nicknamed "the monkey")
·Allegory of Music; Ten Virtues byJean Boulanger
·Thank you; Going home; Family; Under the shadow byLawrence Carroll
· Religious effigies byPierfrancesco Cittadini
·Market scene with fish and meat seller with Christ in Martha’s house attributed to Flemish school.
·The Dead Christ Mourned, attributed toAbraham Janssens
·Madonna of Fiorano byLudovico Lana
·St John the Baptist byCamillo Procaccini
·Madonna of the Pearls by follower ofRaphael
·Francesco I with his wife Maria Farnese and their children Alfonso and Isabella byNicolas Régnier.
_01.JPG)
_-_Modena_06.JPG)
Media related toDucal Palace of Sassuolo at Wikimedia Commons
44°32′33″N10°46′48″E / 44.54250°N 10.78000°E /44.54250; 10.78000
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
