The Palazzo Bichi Ruspoli, or previously Palazzo or Castellare dei Rossi, is an urban palace, located on Via Banchi di Sopra in the present

contrada A (plural: ) is a subdivision (of various types) of Italian city, now unofficial. Depending on the case, a will be a ''località'', a ''rione'', a ''quartiere'' (''terziere'', etc.), a ''borgo'', or even a suburb. The best-known are the 17 ...

of Civetta, Terzo di Camollia of the city of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, region of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, Italy.

History

The sober stone palace is just south of the Palazzo Salimbeni and north of the

Palazzo Tolomei The Palazzo Tolomei is an imposing, Gothic style urban palace, located on Via Banchi di Sopra in the present contrada of Civetta, Terzo di Camollia of the city of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. History The building is one of the oldest palaces ...

on the Via Banchi di Sopra. The three story palace with a curved facade was enlarged by Alessandro Bichi in 1520. The palace originally was owned by the Rossi family and housed

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

during a stay in Siena. It was built with rusticated limestone blocks in the 14th century around an earlier, 13th century, castle-like block with a tower and peaked ground floor arches. The present rectangular upper windows date to later reconstructions. The present Neoclassic style interiors were commissioned in the 18th century by the Marquis Bichi Ruspoli from the artist and architect Jacopo Franchini. The entrance was designed by Pietro Marchetti. Despite successive reconstructions, the baroque interior decoration of the chapel remain. The interiors maintain much of the original Neoclassical fresco decoration by

Alessandro Franchi Alessandro Franchi may refer to: * Alessandro Franchi (cardinal) (1819–1878), Italian cardinal and archbishop * Alessandro Franchi (painter) Alessandro Franchi (15 March 1838, in Prato – 29 April 1914, in Siena) was an Italian painter. He ...

Cesare Maffei Cesare Maffei (born 1805) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassical period, active in Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type ...

, and

Giovanni Bandini Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

.Beni Culturali Siena
It now serves as a rental residence and bank offices. There is another Palazzo Bichi Ruspoli at Roccalbegna.

References

{{Coord, 43.3205, 11.3311, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Bichi Ruspoli Houses completed in the 18th century Houses completed in the 14th century Gothic architecture in Siena Neoclassical architecture in Siena 18th-century architecture in Italy