Palazzo Farnese, Piacenza

Palazzo Farnese is a palace in Piacenza, northern Italy.

This large partly constructed palace is located on the banks of the River Po in the city of Piacenza in Northern Italy. In 1556, Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Castro and of Parma, also became Duke of Piacenza and initially set up his court there. Ottavio decided on a residence in the city possibly because he could feel more secure due to the presence of a Spanish garrison.

The palace was commissioned by Ottavio's wife, Margaret of Austria, daughter of Emperor Charles V. The new edifice was erected over a former fortress built by the Visconti in 1352, part of which can still be seen.

An initial design was made by Francesco Paciotto, from Urbino, and in 1558, the architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, better known as Vignola, was brought in to revise the designs. Vignola had already been commissioned to design the Villa Farnese at Caprarola (Latium) for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the older brother of the Duke. Vignola had to take Piacotto's design into account but significantly revised the design which was presented to the patrons in 1561. The drawings are for a vast palace on a scale paralleled only by the Vatican Palace in Italy; the rectangular plan is circa 111 metres by 88 metres. The building works were entrusted to Giovanni Bernardo Della Valle, Giovanni Lavezzari and Bernardo Panizzari (Caramosino). The actual construction, however, made up only less than a half of Vignola's original project and lacked many of the planned architectural features; missing elements include part of the exterior surrounding walls, the main façade modelled on the ancient triumphal arch and with a large tower, and a theater in the large inner courtyard. The expenditure of such a large palace plus the political machinations of the Piacentine nobility may have caused Ottavio not to complete the building and instead move his court from Piacenza to Parma. The construction of this partly built palace was completed in 1602, under Duke Ranuccio I.

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