Palazzo Fogaccia: An Italian Aristocratic Palace in Clusone
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Venetian
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page6 sections
History
Palazzo Fogaccia is an Italian aristocratic palace in Clusone, Italy, built between 1693 and 1709 at the wish of Count Vittorio Maria Fogaccia. The Milanese architect Giovanni Battista Quadrio designed the building, while the master builders Giovan Maria and Antonio Trezzini of Lugano completed the work in 1709. The palace belonged to a period when noble residences expressed family status through imposing architecture and elaborate decoration.
Construction and family ambition
The palace embodied the Fogaccia family’s determination to establish superiority over Clusone’s other local families. Their motto, “Neither kill me nor frighten me,” expressed the confidence associated with this ambition. Despite the scale of the residence, the Fogaccia family occupied it for only one summer, in 1709.
The building later entered the history of the Giovanelli family. In 1939, Countess Giulia Fogaccia Zammitti, niece and heir of Count Piero Fogaccia, married Prince Giuseppe Giovanelli. Following the marriage, the palace became known as Palazzo Fogaccia Giovanelli. The Giovanelli family originated in Val Gandino and was related to Guglielmo Marconi, while the couple lived mainly at Villa Giovanelli Fogaccia in Rome.
Protection and ownership
On 23 October 1910, the Ministry of Public Education declared Palazzo Fogaccia a work of important artistic interest. The palace remains owned by the Giovanelli family.
Remains
Palazzo Fogaccia stands within a large park in the eastern part of Clusone. Its exterior is chiefly presented by a long southern wall of rustic masonry extending across three levels. This rusticated surface emphasizes the blocks of masonry through rough or deeply recessed joints, giving the facade a deliberately robust appearance. Dark stone surrounds frame the windows and portals. Ten square openings line the first floor, while the ceremonial piano nobile, the principal floor of an Italian aristocratic palace, has corresponding large windows and a small balcony at the center. The third floor repeats the square openings of the first.
Entrance and circulation spaces
The rusticated entrance portal carries the Fogaccia family coat of arms, formed by two lion heads. The Carra brothers carved the decoration while they were in Clusone working on the Marian basilica, a basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The entrance space also preserves the family carriage, which remained in use until the early twentieth century.
Inside, a large stone staircase with balustrades leads to the first floor. A balustrade is a railing made from a series of small supporting elements. From the staircase, a fully frescoed circulation gallery leads to the grand hall of honour. Giuseppe Brina and other artists decorated the gallery, while the Milanese brothers Giovanni and Giuseppe Mariani frescoed the hall.
Frescoed rooms and artworks
Francesco Paglia, a pupil of the painter Guercino, decorated several first-floor rooms, the eastern gallery, and parts of the vaults. Guercino was the commonly used name of the Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri. Paglia also painted a large picture in the main salon showing Count Vittorio Maria Fogaccia and his family celebrating in the park of their residence.
The palace contains reception rooms, a gallery, a private chapel, guest apartments, and private-use rooms, all frescoed and decorated. Its other artworks include two portraits by Querena, an Annunciation by Domenico Carpinoni, and still lifes of musical instruments by Bartolomeo Bettera. Bettera inherited Evaristo Baschenis’s workshop and continued his artistic tradition. Baschenis was a seventeenth-century Italian painter known especially for still lifes depicting musical instruments.
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