Pallavicino Mossi Palace, Turin
Pallavicino Mossi Palace (Palazzo Pallavicino Mossi) is another of the 17th century Torino mansions. At different times it changed the owners, name and appearance. But always remained the gem of the city. A fairly simple and typical view from the outside contrasts with a beautiful interior.
History of the palace
The exact date of the construction of the Pallavicino Mossi Palace in Turin is unknown, as well as the architect, who took part in creating the palazzo. For the first time, the building under construction is mentioned in sale papers dated to 1648. In 1690 and 1710 the mansion changed owners twice. The family of Caisotti di Casalgrasso who bought it in the early 18th century lived here for a long time. Then, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out in the style of Neoclassicism according to the project of Giovanni Battista Borra.
In 1850, the banker and politician Lodovico Pallavicino Mossi bought the building with all the furniture for 350,000 lira. After that, in 1852, architect Amedeo Peyron repaired the façade of the palazzo, giving it a strict uniform appearance. And then the era of the building, connected with the banking business, began. In 1856 the Banco di Sconto and Sete opened here, in 1863 it merged with the bank Cassa di Sconto di Torino. In 1985 and 2011, two more renovations of the building were carried out, after which the office of the Banca Regionale Europea settled here.
Architecture and decoration
The building has 4 floors. After several reconstructions, the façade has restrained and rectilinear appearance. Only the triangular pediments stand out above the windows of the second and third floors. The central entrance is framed on both sides by columns with bas-reliefs, above it hangs a balcony with wrought iron railings. From the portal you can get to the courtyard, from which you can see the main building.
In the past, the stables and servants' rooms were behind the building in the second courtyard, and on the top floor the wife of Lodovico Pallavicino looked after a gallery with flowers.
Inside the building there are several very interesting rooms with paintings and murals. The main staircase leads to the hall of mirrors of the 18th century, adorned with the works of the court painter Claudio Francesco Beaumont. The rooms are decorated with ornaments and excellent stucco molding. The hall, formerly a private chapel of the Countess, has a wonderful ceiling decorated with a huge fresco by the artist Fratelli Mosselli, dated 1866.
How to get there
Pallavicino Mossi Palace is located in the historic quarter of the center of Turin – San Giuseppe, near the church of the same name, on Via Santa Teresa, 11. Next to it to south there is the Solferino Square and other old mansions – Lascaris and Grondana. Near the intersection with the next street there is a stop Bertola. It can be reached by trams № 4, 15, and buses № 11, 27, 55, 57, 92, S04. For more information on visiting the palace, please call (+39) 011 551 9111.
