Arte dei Mercanti del Panno

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Palazzo dell'Arte dei Mercanti del Panno
Via Toschi
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Begun at the end of the 15th century, the Palazzo dell’Arte dei Mercanti del Panno was completed in 1541 and housed the cloth merchants’ guild until the 18th century. The building, located in Via San Carlo on the corner of Via Filippo, is characterised by a noble and tall portico, now partly blind, with terracotta and sandstone columns. A capital with a goat’s head remains. The ‘purgo’ (hence the ancient name of Via del Purgo or Contrada delle Purghe) was connected to the noble building, that is, the place where the wool fabrics were freed from the grease used in their processing, and it overlooked the main branch of the Secchia canal, coming from Via del Guazzatoio, from which it drew the water needed for washing the wool and for motive power. The ‘purgo’ structure was later demolished: even the Secchia canal is no longer visible. The second floor of the Palazzo is due to the 19th-century restoration. Regarding the pictorial decoration of the building, it seems that it was designed in the sixteenth century by the famous painter from Novellara, Lelio Orsi, but it is doubtful whether it was built according to the preserved drawings.” (Palazzo dell'Arte dei Mercanti del Panno, Travel Italia)