The Cesi-Camuccini Palace

Palazzo Camuccini, located in the square of the same name in the municipality of Cantalupo, was built on a pre-existing building from Roman times (remains of Roman walls are still present in the foundations of the present Palace). It was modified over time by the different lords who succeeded one another, until it took on that rather severe appearance impressed on it by the Savelli family and which Cardinal Pierdonato Cesi, when he took possession of it in 1566, wanted to change by transforming it into a more modern residence with Renaissance forms.

In the reconstruction, the original volumes of the Savelli castle were left almost intact, particularly in the part overlooking the valley, also retaining the corner towers, while the elevation was enriched with a travertine facade, developed on two levels of portico and loggia, almost a theatrical architectural apparatus. It was Giovan Domenico Bianchi, a pupil of Vignola, who reorganized the interior and designed the new facade.

Inside the palace are large rooms frescoed with subjects that still serve to identify them today. The ‘attribution of the paintings goes to the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari and their pupils: the sumptuous grotesque decorations and in the cartouches and figured plaques, often with insistent points of eroticism. The Cesi coat of arms often recurs on the frescoed vaults, and among the grotesque figurations it is possible to read continual allusions to the family’s heraldic plan: the Corniolo.

Of great significance are the works of the neoclassical painter Vincenzo Cammuccini: the vast cartoon representing the death of Virginia; and that of Cornelia, the St. Bear and Judith, the Pieta, and the Eternal Father. In the loggia there are valuable statues and bas-reliefs. Most important is the Hall of Arms where there is a collection of pole arms, halberds, partisans, breaching knives, pikes, spears, and on special stands, eight superb suits of armor.

In the reconstruction, the original volumes of the Savelli castle were left almost intact, particularly in the part overlooking the valley, also retaining the corner towers, while the elevation was enriched with a travertine facade, developed on two levels of portico and loggia, almost a theatrical architectural apparatus. It was Giovan Domenico Bianchi, a pupil of Vignola, who reorganized the interior and designed the new facade.

Inside the palace are large rooms frescoed with subjects that still serve to identify them today. The ‘attribution of the paintings goes to the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari and their pupils: the sumptuous grotesque decorations and in the cartouches and figured plaques, often with insistent points of eroticism. The Cesi coat of arms often recurs on the frescoed vaults, and among the grotesque figurations it is possible to read continual allusions to the family’s heraldic plan: the Corniolo.

Of great significance are the works of the neoclassical painter Vincenzo Cammuccini: the vast cartoon representing the death of Virginia; and that of Cornelia, the St. Bear and Judith, the Pieta, and the Eternal Father. In the loggia there are valuable statues and bas-reliefs. Most important is the Hall of Arms where there is a collection of pole arms, halberds, partisans, breaching knives, pikes, spears, and on special stands, eight superb suits of armor.