Castle, Villa | House Museum | Historic Residence
PALAZZO DUCALE DI SABBIONETA
Sabbioneta (MN)
included Palazzo Ducale, the oldest of the buildings constructed by Vespasiano, was built between 1560 and 1561 after a violent fire had devastated the previous structure in November 1559. A political and administrative seat, it is spread over four levels: the basement, the ground floor, the piano nobile and the mezzanine floor
It was the duke's residence, and is two-storey with a raised portico and central turret, and a portico on the ground floor; marble-framed windows and corbels mark the façade. The interior consists of a series of halls and rooms frescoed and decorated by various artists. The wooden ceilings are splendid; the twenty-one Gonzaga portraits in stucco by Alberto Cavalli and the four wooden statues of characters on horseback (Vespasiano Gonzaga and three of his ascendants) stand out in the Galleria degli Antenati.
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