Malvezzi-Hercolani Palace

Built by Virgilio Malvezzi in 1448, when he became lord of these lands, the palazzo flanks the centre of the castle and seamlessly blends into the setting. This is, indeed, a building fit for a lord: note the absence of a portico and its position, set back a little from the road that crosses the town, and the extremely compact linear facade, broken only by the large ogival door and balcony. The piazza across the street accentuates the building’s prominence. The privately owned southern side of the building retains its stately appearance thanks to still-visible traces of a series of large pointed windows; moreover, the adjacent tower evokes the one in Palazzo del Podestà. The main pointed-arch door leads into a suggestive courtyard: the lower loggia has three sides, two longer ones with three round arches and a shorter one with just two. Each of the lower loggia arches corresponds to two arches in the upper loggia. On the ground floor, the central courtyard contains a cistern, once used to collect rainwater.

Due to numerous renovations, little remains of the original premises: substantial modifications were made in the late 18th century; these include a large staircase leading to the upper floor which is still there today. In 1806, Piriteo IV Malvezzi died. With the marriage between Maria Laura, the Malvezzi heir, and Prince Cesare Hercolani, ownership passed to the Hercolani family. In 1829 a small theatre, frescoed by Antonio Basoli, opened on the ground floor, a complex of which there is now no trace.

Today, the building acts as the Town Hall.