Palazzo Vincentini: Prefecture of Rieti
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Italian, Papal States
- Site type
- Civic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page14 sections
History
Palazzo Vincentini is a historic building in Rieti, Italy, whose Renaissance character, Mannerist exterior, and Baroque interior developed through work begun in 1589. Now the seat of the Prefecture of Rieti, a state administrative institution headed by a prefect who represents the central government in a province, it stands beside the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta on Piazza Cesare Battisti.
From Casa Poiana to Palazzo Vincentini
The building was formerly known as Casa Poiana, when it belonged to the Poiani, lords of Piediluco. Marco Antonio Vincentini purchased the palace in 1589, beginning a programme of renovation and completion that continued until after 1624. The work transformed the small adjoining vegetable garden into a raised hanging garden, supported by substantial brick vaults and extending toward Cathedral Square.
A nineteenth-century tradition credited the design to Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, a leading sixteenth-century Italian architect associated with late Renaissance and Mannerist architecture. That attribution was later challenged by the historian Angelo Sacchetti Sassetti, who instead assigned the project to Giovan Domenico Bianchi of Milan, an architect belonging to the Vignola school. This description associates the design with Vignola’s principles without necessarily identifying Vignola as the building’s architect.
The Vincentini garden and public ownership
The Vincentini family retained the garden as private property until the twentieth century. A high wall separated it from the square, while its vegetation was arranged in a naturalistic and relatively untamed manner. In 1927 the family sold the palace to the newly established Province of Rieti, which required a suitable headquarters. The garden was then opened to the public.
In 1929 the enclosing wall was demolished and replaced by an iron railing made by the Rieti craftsman Catini to a design by the engineer Mazzoni. At the same time, the garden was reorganized as an Italian formal garden. After the Second World War, the province kept ownership but transferred the premises to the prefecture, moving its own offices to Palazzo d’Oltre Velino.
Modern conservation
Safety work in the gardens in 2009 improved the stability of the large stone pines. In 2011, the Province of Rieti carried out renovation work that replaced the vegetation and restored the paving, benches, railing, and aviary, while also installing irrigation and surveillance systems. Later neglect damaged the garden’s plants and benches. Restoration financed by the Varrone Foundation in 2018 returned the gardens to their previous condition. The palace remains owned by the Province of Rieti and serves as the prefecture.
Remains
Palace exterior
Façade and entrance
Palazzo Vincentini has three floors and presents a Renaissance-style façade with a Mannerist exterior. Its portal is decorated with rustication, a finish that gives the stonework a deliberately textured appearance. Four barred windows, arranged as two on either side of the entrance, flank the portal. Five framed windows run across each of the first and second floors.
The central window on the first floor opens onto a small balcony. Above it is a broken pediment, whose apex bears the coat of arms of the Vincentini family. The arrangement gives the central part of the façade a formal emphasis while retaining the regular rhythm of the upper windows.
Cathedral-side loggia
The side facing the cathedral contains a loggia arranged on two levels of Serlian openings. A Serlian opening has a central arch flanked by narrower side openings and is also known as a Venetian window. On the lower level, three arches are separated by two pairs of pilasters. On the first floor, three further arches are divided by two pairs of columns, above which are two oval elements. Two niches occupy the level of the uppermost floor.
Interior rooms
Prefectural offices
The ground floor contains prefectural offices and paintings made in 1932 depicting Marcus Terentius Varro and Vespasian. Varro was a Roman scholar and writer of the late Republic, while Vespasian was the Roman emperor who founded the Flavian dynasty and ruled from AD 69 to 79. The second floor also houses prefectural offices and has no feature identified as being of particular importance.
Prefect’s rooms
The first floor contains the rooms used by the prefect. Its notable feature is a sixteenth-century fireplace made of polychrome marble. The name of one of the Vincentini family owners is written in gold on the fireplace, linking the surviving interior feature to the family that reshaped and completed the palace.
Raised formal garden
Structure and boundary
The loggia opens onto a raised Italian formal garden created on the site of the former adjoining vegetable garden. Robust brick vaults support the elevated ground, which extends toward Cathedral Square. On the Piazza Cesare Battisti side, the garden is enclosed by an iron fence and stone pillars and is publicly accessible.
Planting and garden features
The garden contains large stone pines, paved areas, benches, an aviary, the enclosing railing, and irrigation and surveillance installations. Modern interventions replaced the vegetation and restored the paving, benches, railing, and aviary. The garden’s earlier condition was reinstated in 2018.
From its elevated position, the garden overlooks the roofs of Rieti’s historic center and the Sabine Mountains bordering the Reatina Plain south of the city. The loggia and the nearby Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta are visible from within the garden.
Nearby sites
