Palazzo Rivera: A Historic Palace in L’Aquila
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Naples, Spanish
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page6 sections
History
Palazzo Rivera is a historic palace in L’Aquila, Italy, associated with the Rivera family and its long-established position in the city. The present building took shape during the eighteenth century, with a principal front in a combination of Baroque, Neoclassical, and Rococo forms. It reflects the family’s rise through ownership of urban palaces and pastureland from the sixteenth century onward.
The Rivera family in Roio
The Riveras traced their lineage to the Counts of Marsi, a medieval comital family associated with the Marsica area of central Italy. Their presence in L’Aquila extended back to the city’s foundation. From the sixteenth century, the family increased its power and prestige mainly by acquiring palaces within the city and pastureland around it, while other local families developed their fortunes through the wool and saffron trade.
The family had settled in the Roio area by the sixteenth century. They continued to live there after the earthquake that struck L’Aquila in 1703, at least until 1712. The earlier palace was probably incorporated into the present complex rather than demolished, a process also associated with the neighboring Palazzo Antonelli Dragonetti de Torres.
Eighteenth-century rebuilding
The exact date of Palazzo Rivera’s present form remains unsettled. The family was living there in 1746, while construction may have continued between 1769 and 1778. The design is attributed to Luigi Filippi, who is also credited with Palazzo Arcivescovile. The new principal front, created in the second half of the eighteenth century, brought together the palace’s successive building phases and gave the complex a unified outward appearance.
The 2009 L’Aquila earthquake caused extensive structural damage. Restoration work followed, but the palace is currently unfit for use.
Remains
Palazzo Rivera occupies part of a city block in the San Giovanni quarter, bounded by Piazza Santa Maria di Roio, Via Roio, and Via Monteluco. The block extends eastward toward Piazza del Duomo and is completed by Palazzo Antonelli Dragonetti de Torres. Palazzo Rivera stands opposite the Church of Santa Maria di Roio and beside Palazzo Persichetti. Its surviving form combines an irregular Renaissance-based plan with an eighteenth-century principal elevation.
Principal elevation
The main front is arranged in three orders, meaning systems of columns and horizontal architectural bands derived from classical practice, and is topped by an attic, an upper section above the principal levels. A prominent string course, or horizontal band dividing the building’s levels, emphasizes the two main storeys, of which the lower is especially tall. Seven windows are linked visually to the string course, with five grouped at the center in a pattern resembling that of Palazzo Fibbioni. The entrance portal is framed by two square-based columns and carries a small balcony. Above it, the window’s pediment bears the Rivera family coat of arms. Pairs of prominent pilasters, shallow wall-attached elements resembling columns, mark the corners at open angles and rest on the corner blocks.
Courtyards and interiors
The complex has a highly irregular plan organized around three courtyards of different sizes. Their formation dates from the Renaissance, while the particularly uneven wing along Via Roio reflects construction phases that developed over more than two centuries. Each courtyard is associated with one of three entrances, one for each elevation, and the building is served by three stairways. Inside, painted halls contain stucco decoration, continuing the palace’s combination of architectural structure and ornamental treatment.
