Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Historic villa / palace
Palazzo Averoldi
Building in Brescia, Italy
At a glance
- Architect
- Lodovico Beretta
- Protection
- Italian national heritage
- Coordinates
- 45°32′09″ N, 10°12′53″ E
History and description
Palazzo Averoldi is a historic building in Brescia located on Via Moretto at number 12. It was built starting in the 16th century in the middle of the southern historic center, in what was once the so-called Quadra di San Giovanni.
Built at the behest of the powerful and influential Averoldi family, the aristocratic palace represents one of the greatest examples of Brescian artistic production in the civic sphere and contains, in its rooms and interior halls, important decorations and frescoes from the 16th-century period by painters such as Romanino and Lattanzio Gambara, two of the major protagonists of Brescian art during the period between Renaissance and Mannerism.
History
Toward the end of the 15th century, Giovan Paolo Averoldi, "a most virtuous and devout man," purchased several pieces of land from the Porcellaga family in the vicinity of the city walls, in the then Contrada di Santa Croce, also known as Contrada del Bue, or even "della fontana del bò." He, in doing so, separated himself from the other branches of the family, all of whom lived near what is known in modern times as Via Marsala and was once called Contrada di Monzia; Giovan Paolo himself chose as the area to build his palace the fifth Quadra di San Giovanni, a sector of the city also known as Borgo San Nazaro. The area, which took its name from the nearby San Nazaro gate and was then characterized by a strong artisan tradition, was precisely in the vicinity of the walls and constituted, among other things, a privileged access point for those entering Brescia through the city walls.
Construction of the noble palace, nevertheless, began only from 1544 onward. It was the four sons of the aforementioned Giovan Paolo Averoldi who initiated the construction of the mansion: Giovan Andrea, Leandro, Mario, and Fulgenzio, on the aforementioned date, entered into a contract with the Bergamasque architects and military engineers Pietro Isabello and his son Marcantonio; the two designers were commissioned both to design the new mansion from scratch and to adapt the pre-existing hovels and buildings in the area of the service courtyard. It is highly probable, moreover, that the work was conducted rather expeditiously, also by virtue of the fact that, again according to the terms of the stipulated contract, the fee would not be rendered unless certain timelines of the construction site were met.
A few months after the contract was signed, Giovan Andrea Averoldi, speaking also on behalf of the other three brothers, approached the city council to request the cession of another public area, so that they could "make a building which is well designed and built according to the canons of architecture"; in return, part of their property was ceded by the Averoldi family to both the south and the north, so that the adjacent public road could be widened. …
Description
As the construction of Palazzo Averoldi protracted for a long time, it is not easy to reconstruct both the original appearance of the building and the various interventions made over the centuries. Nevertheless, the plan layout of the mansion is a unique case in the panorama of the city's aristocratic residences, since it presents a U-shaped plan, with the front courtyard open to the south. Equally unusual is the fact that the entrance from the north leads directly into the service courtyard, originally equipped with stables, barns and sheds and consisting of rustic masonry; a further unusual element is the lack, in the aristocratic palace itself, of a main facade.
Fausto Lechi states with some certainty that the exterior façade of the mansion, facing Moretto Street, was undoubtedly built as soon as the construction was started, i.e. in 1544. Although unfinished, this facade is asymmetrical and features an ashlar portal of a certain grandeur; it is then adorned simply with two Medusa heads carved in relief, without presenting any other elements worthy of mention. Moving instead from the aforementioned service courtyard, passing through a further entrance hall, one arrives instead in the innermost courtyard of the aristocratic residence, which presents, in this section, a more refined and aristocratic setting.
The inner courtyard of the palace consists of a portico covered by rib vaults and supported by columns of Tuscan order made of Botticino marble: the same courtyard is then divided into five arcades in the two side arms and six in the central body; in the latter, the even number of bays implies the unusual solution of the fullness of a column on the axis, instead of the emptiness of an arch. The aforementioned columns, moreover, support eyebrowed round arches, while on the upper floor there are Ionic lesenes in which simple windows are inserted; the whole is then concluded by a string course with conspicuous corbels. The architectural layout, on the whole, has been attributed by Fausto Lechi to the work of the Brescian architect Lodovico Beretta, as asserted in numerous other works by local scholars. …
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Palazzo Averoldi».
People
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
BresciaTrain, nearest
400 m as the crow flies
Palazzo Averoldi
Aeroporto Brescia Montichiari15.0 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore historic villas and palaces in Lombardy
Frequently asked questions
Where is Palazzo Averoldi?
Palazzo Averoldi is in Brescia, in the province of Brescia (Lombardy), Italy. GPS coordinates: 45.53588, 10.21477.
What else is there to see near Palazzo Averoldi?
Nearby you’ll find: Casa Ottelli (300 m away), Palazzo Martinengo Palatini (300 m away), Torre Teofila (300 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 2 photos
- Palazzo Averoldi Via Moretto facciata Brescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Palazzo Averoldi Via Moretto corte interna Brescia — This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright…, CC BY-SA 3.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences