Palazzo Pinelli

History

The palace was commissioned in 1545 by Cosimo Pinelli, banker, Duke of Acerenza and lord of the Giugliano fiefdom. The design is attributed to Giovan Francesco De Palma, known as Mormando, a Neapolitan architect and pupil of Giovanni Francesco Donadio, also known as Mormando, whose daughter Diana he married. Construction was completed around 1569.

In 1631, under the feudal lord Galeazzo Francesco Pinelli, grandson of Cosimo, the writer Giambattista Basile was appointed governor of Giugliano and resided in the palace. It is believed that Basile, a member of the Accademia degli Oziosi founded in 1611 by Giovanni Battista Manso, worked in the rooms of the piano nobile on his most famous work, Lo cunto de li cunti, a collection of tales that later inspired authors such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm for fairy tales including Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and Sleeping Beauty.

The palace also housed the renowned private library of Gian Vincenzo Pinelli.

In 1639, Galeazzo Francesco Pinelli sold his shares of the fiefdom and palace to Cesare d'Aquino. In 1691, ownership passed to Francesco Grillo, Duke of Giugliano. Following the death without heirs of Duke Domenico Grillo in 1756, the ducal palace and other family assets were confiscated by the royal treasury. The palace then became the residence of the royal administrator Antonio Tito. Around 1794, it was acquired by Marcantonio Colonna, Prince of Stigliano and new feudal lord of Giugliano. An important figure at the Bourbon court and Viceroy of Sicily from 1774, he commissioned a radical renovation of the building around 1794.

In 1833, the palace was expropriated for the benefit of the Palumbo family, from whom the alternative name derives.

During the ownership of the Colonna princes of Stigliano, the palace underwent major modifications. Beginning in 1794, Marcantonio Colonna commissioned architect Domenico Chelli, then director of the Teatro di San Carlo, to carry out a radical renovation. The project included the refurbishment of the interiors in the Pompeian style and the construction of monumental gardens accessed through a still extant Baroque staircase. …