Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino (Camera di Commercio)
The palace that now houses the Chamber of Commerce was built between 1558 and 1561 by the marquis Tobia Pallavicino, a Genoese patrician educated and updated on the latest Roman news, who had built his wealth on the monopoly of alum of Tolfa.
The palace is the result of the architect Giovanni Battista Castello known as Bergamasco, updated on the new architectural and decorative course that developed in those years in Rome. The structure, originally a cubic block on two floors with a garden at the back, opens on the street with the spectacular atrium decorated with stucco and grotesque, from which starts a staircase with double ramp faced (the left is fake!). The hall of the noble floor is preceded by a “loggia” that, among stuccoes and frescoes by Bergamo, celebrates the client as a patron of the arts and music, one of the most beautiful Genoese interiors of the sixteenth century that have survived.
In 1704 the Palace was bought by Giacomo Filippo Carrega who, with his son Giambattista, began the works of enlargement that lead to the structure arrived today. The extraordinary decorative machine started between 1734 and 1744 by Lorenzo De Ferrari - designer, painter and decorator: the Golden Gallery, located to join the two new side wings towards the valley, was born in this moment, which becomes the new place of representation of the magnificence of the family. The decoration - dedicated to the Stories of Enea - completely covers walls, vaults, furnishings and decorations, in a sophisticated setting resulting from a unified design.
Lorenzo De Ferrari is also the author of the palace chapel and its illusionistic architecture, which preserved the Virgin Mary and Child by the French sculptor Pierre Puget, now replaced by a copy (the original is kept at the Museum of Sant'Agostino).
In 1830, the Palace was sold by the Carrega to the Cataldi barons and in the second half of the 19th century it was leased. In 1922 the purchase by the Chamber of Commerce prevented the building from being divided. Over the years, the Chamber of Commerce has also made numerous restorations.
The building is open to the public from Monday to Friday during office hours; and on Saturday afternoon only for tours conducted by tourist guides.
To know more and for all the information for the visit, here is the link to the site of Chamber of Commerce:
To learn more about the history of the Palace, here is the link to the page on the website Rolli e Strade Nuove: https://www.rolliestradenuove.it/rollo/11-palazzo-tobia-pallavicino/
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