Palazzo Bernardini (Matera): A Historic Noble Palace
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Naples
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page14 sections
History
Palazzo Bernardini is a historic palace in Italy, located in Matera and overlooking the Sasso Caveoso, the district known for its rocky landscape and cave dwellings. Its construction is dated to 1448. The building is also known by the historical names Palazzo Ferraù and Palazzo Giudicepietro, reflecting the families who owned and altered it over time.
From the Ulmo family to the Ferraù family
The palace originally belonged to the Ulmo family. It passed to the Ferraù, or Firrao, family as the dowry of Beatrice Ulmo when she married Giambattista Ferraù. The family’s first residence on Via Conservatorio was a house that had previously hosted Count Giancarlo Tramontano.
The Ferraù family’s wealth grew after it inherited 80,000 ducats from Don Antonio Tarsia. In 1592, the family became one of Matera’s nine noble families. The succession of its generations is uncertain, although Giuseppe was followed by Giambattista. After the municipal headquarters was completed in 1759, Giambattista moved the palace entrance from the San Nicola enclosure to Arco Piazza.
Eighteenth-century modernization
Giambattista was succeeded by his son Giuseppe, who married Marianna Caracciolo, a Neapolitan noblewoman from the marquises of Pannarano. To prepare the apartment for her arrival, he modernized it with white and yellow fabrics, elaborate white-and-gold stucco, and overdoors decorated with mythological subjects in chiaroscuro, a style based on strong contrasts between light and dark.
Additional changes preceded the arrival of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte’s elder brother and king of Naples from 1806 to 1808. On 30 May 1806, the palace hosted a large ball attended by officials of the Regia Udienza, the royal judicial and administrative institution of the Kingdom of Naples, as well as leading noble families from Matera. For this occasion, the entrance was moved to Piazza Sedile.
Transfer to the Giudicepietro and Bernardini families
Beginning in 1822, the Firraù family distributed parts of its property among different families. In 1859, Don Filippo Giudicepietro purchased two houses in Castelvecchio. His father, Andrea Giudicepietro, was a cloth merchant who transferred both his shop and his residence to Filippo.
Filippo had married Lucrezia Morcinelli in 1808. Her dowry included several houses and 3,000 ducats in cash, giving Filippo the resources to acquire the Firraù palace. After his death, the property passed to his nephew Andrea. In 1974, the Giudicepietro family sold the apartment in Piazza Sedile to Aldo Bernardini, who commissioned restoration work. The palace remains in use and is owned by the Bernardini family.
Remains
Decorated reception interiors
The salone
The principal interior is the salone, or main reception hall. Its surviving elements retain their original form, apart from the floor, which has been altered. Tall mirrors give the room a lighter appearance, while a large Murano crystal chandelier occupies the centre of its decorative scheme.
Vaulted room and furnishings
Another barrel-vaulted room contains canvas paintings placed above consoles with marble shelves. The consoles are painted white and enriched with gold ornament. Armchairs and sofas retain their original yellow damask upholstery, preserving part of the room’s historic furnishing.
Neoclassical decorative program
Frieze and relief figures
A pastel monochrome frieze is interrupted by white relief figures set against a blue ground. Their appearance recalls Wedgwood porcelain and the neoclassical decorative style associated with the English manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood. The imagery draws on Roman figurative art and on the archaeological taste that developed after the discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii. The figures are arranged near a cippus, a small stone pillar or marker: one pulls a rabbit, while others lead a horse and a bull.
Painted vault
The vault is divided into geometric panels painted to resemble delicate stucco frames. Pastel green, pink, and yellow tones organize the panels and complement the relief decoration of the room.
Mythological paintings and mirrors
Mythological canvases
The palace contains numerous mythological paintings and canvases, including scenes identified as Diana hunting and the Abduction of Helen. These subjects form part of the palace’s broader decorative program, which combines painted imagery with ornamental stucco.
Trumeaux and allegorical subjects
A family inventory lists four trumeaux, large decorative mirror units, with gilded wooden frames and paintings above them representing the “Fables of the False Gods.” They were accompanied by gilded-brass two-light cornucopias, horn-shaped symbols of abundance, and were valued at 160 ducats. From the sixteenth century, the word “fable” was used for myths in different artistic forms, while the “false gods” were pagan deities.
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