The Palazzo Firrao or Palazzo Bisignano, once called Palazzo di Santa Agata, is a monumental palace located on Via

Santa Maria di Costantinopoli The Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located on the street of the same name in Naples, Italy, and located a block north of the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples. History Its name is allied to the cult ...

number 98, facing Piazza Bellini, in central

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

A palace at the site existed by the early 1500s, since it is known it once sported external frescoes by Polidoro di Caravaggio. The palace was purchased in the early 17th century by Cesare Firrao, Prince of Sant’Agata and Luzzi, in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. It is generally held that he commissioned the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architect

Cosimo Fanzago Cosimo Fanzago (Clusone, 12 October 1591 – Napoli, 13 February 1678) was an Italian architect and sculptor, generally considered the greatest such artist of the Baroque period in Naples, Italy. Biography Early life and education Fanzago was ...

to rebuild the palace, and that this architect designed the present facade. Others attribute much of the work to Jacopo Lazzari and his son Dionisio. The palace facade was apparently completed by 1630-1640s. The close affiliation of Firrao to the viceroy's government almost led to the destruction of the palace during the 1647 revolution of

Masaniello Tommaso Aniello (29 June 1620 – 16 July 1647), popularly known by the contracted name Masaniello (, ), was an Italian fisherman who became leader of the 1647 revolt against the rule of Habsburg Spain in the Kingdom of Naples. Name and place ...

, but thanks to the intervention of Cardinal

Ascanio Filomarino Ascanio Filomarino (1583 – 3 November 1666) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, who was Archbishop of Naples from 1641 to 1666. Early life Filomarino was born in Naples to the noble family of the dukes Della Torre. Eldest of the five sons o ...

, the palace was spared. Tradition holds that the cardinal was able to dissuade the mobs by pointing to the bust of Charles I of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor, on the facade, and invoking that king's restrained taxation. The male family of Firrao died out by the second half of the 17th century, and the palace passed through a daughter Livia Firrao, to the line of her husband Tommaso di

Sanseverino Sanseverino may refer to: * House of Sanseverino, Neapolitan noble family * Antonio Sanseverino, (ca. 1477–1543), Neapolitan cardinal * Ferdinando Sanseverino (1507–1572), prince of Salerno and Italian condottiero * Aurora Sanseverino (1669 ...

, Prince of

Bisignano Bisignano ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, part of the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks. The town has historically bee ...

. In modern times, it housed government offices.

Architecture

The base floors of the facade are constructed with rusticated piperno rock, carved with sturdy but tall Ionic pilasters. The ground floor windows are topped with interrupted pediments with decorative urns. The superior tympanum of the portal is flanked by two reclining statues, each with

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

e, depicting ''Magnanimity'' (with lion) and ''Charity'' (with eagle). In the center, below a forward prancing horse, is a shield displaying the heraldic symbols of the Firrao family. The superior floors also are rich in sculptural elements, with two stories of carved pilasters, the topmost of which are surmounted by symbols of the Firrao family: grapes, lions, and raring horses. But the striking element are the seven medallion niches containing marble busts of rulers of Naples, mostly from the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, which Firrao served. Sculpted by Giulio Mencaglia, perhaps with help from Bernardino Landini and

Giuliano Finelli Giuliano Finelli (1601–1653) was an Italian Baroque sculptor who emerged from the workshop of Bernini. He was born in Carrara to a family of marble masons in a town associated with mining of the stone, and he initially trained with Michelange ...

from left to right (not in chronologic order) they depict: Philip IV, Phillip II, Ferdinand II (?),

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, Ferdinand III, Philip III and Carlos the Second.StoriaCity website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firrao, Naples Palaces in Naples Firrao