Palazzo Vescovile

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Palazzo Vescovile (Episcopal Palace)
Piazza Duomo
Piacenza, May 2024

“The Bishop's Palace stands next to the Cathedral, on the square of the same name. It was built in the first half of the sixteenth century, on the ruins of the dismantled church of San Giovanni de Domo, which dated back to the eighth century. It is believed that the Palace was built as part of the renovation of the square and other areas of the city, commissioned by Pope Paul III Farnese (1534-49), in view of the assignment of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza to his son Pier Luigi. The original porticoed façade was demolished in 1858 and rebuilt shortly afterwards based on a design by the architect Tassini. Punctuated by three orders of windows and a smooth ashlar base, it is crowned at the corners by two allegorical sculptural groups and, in the centre, by a clock from 1898 which serves as the basis for the coat of arms of Pope Pius IX. After passing the portal - which has high talamoni on its sides - you reach the sixteenth-century internal courtyard, punctuated by porticoes with round arches, which house tombstones and fragments of sculptures removed from the Cathedral during the restorations carried out in the twentieth century.” (Palazzo Vescovile, Piacenza)