Palazzo Salis

Tirano - Valtellina

The geographical location of Tirano, or rather of its historic centre, is a very strategical point for transport and trading in the Valtellina valley. It is the crossing point of the natural east–west latitude of the valley on the one hand, and an important north–south passage over the southern Alps on the other hand. Exactly those last mountain passes before entering the lowlands of northern Italy have been highly important for trade and political interests, especially in mediaeval and early modern period.

In that period in the hands of the Duchy of Milan, who even tried to fortify the valley (e.g. castle and city wall of Tirano), the Free State of the Three Leagues conquered the Valtellina in the year 1512, and kept it, with an interruption during the Thirty Years' War, until 1797 as a subordinated territory. For ruling and administrating the new territory the Grisons sent governors and podestà into the cities of the Valtellina, elected mainly out of the noble grison families.

Family-Name von Salis and Salis-Zizers

The family name von Salis derives from Latin word (salix) for the willow tree. Therefore, the coat of arms of the Salis shows an uprooted willow tree on golden ground. The origins of the family can be located in the near of the Lake Como (Sala Comacina). Most probably as a consequence of the conflict between the expanding commune Milan and the commune Como during the 12th century many noble families went north of Lake Como. Even the family Salis transferred themselves to the Val Bregaglia and resettled in the village Soglio which had a prosper position for trading. First one out of the family clan named in a document there was Rudolf Salis who died in Soglio in about 1300.

Due to their position in Soglio and their contacts to the Bishop of Chur they could increase their political and economic importance first in the Val Bregaglia, and later even in the League of God's House. After the formation of the Three Leagues they spread during the 15th and especially 16th century even into the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions. The branch of the Salis-Zizers lead around the year 1550 to Malans, 1614 they went on to Zizers, and finally after 1637 they arrived even in Tirano.

Members of the family Salis captured during the reign of the Three Leagues especially during the 17th and 18th century the major part of the political positions in the Valtellina.

Palazzo – Building History

The Palazzo Salis is situated in the north-eastern area of Tirano, historically called Capo di Terra, inside of the town wall, that got erected in the 1490s by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The start of the construction is dedicated to Giovanni Salis-Zizers, who even became in the 1660s twice podestà of Tirano. About in the middle of the 17th century he bought and sold different properties to finally have the land to build his Palazzo. The entire structure of the Palazzo Salis is the result of the integration and change of already well established buildings, most probably already from the 15th or 16th century. The general style of the face of the building is a leftover of the facades of those 16th century buildings. The imposing doorway of the main entrance took its inspiration from a 16th-century design of the well-known architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (simply called: Il Vignola). The ground plan of the building is structured and organised mainly around two courtyards, named corte della meridiana (Sun-dial Courtyard) and corte dei cavalli (Courtyard of Horses).

The rooms surrounding the “Courtyard of Horses” are predominantly decorated with frescoes from the second half of the 17th century, the construction period of the Palazzo. Due to fire damage, the main hall (salone d‘onore) had to be redecorated in the second half of the 18th century by Giovanni Antonio Cucchi, who painted the ceiling, and by Ferdinando Crivelli for the prospective architecture. The room of the Palazzo regarded as the most important is the Saloncello. The decoration of the hall reflects the Salis family's interests and connections. A sign of the family network is the fireplace made in stucco, which represents the marriage between Giovanni Stefano Salis and his first wife Katharina von Wolkenstein. There are numerous coats of arms belonging to important families (e.g. Medici, Borromeo, Visconti) the Salis family had contact with. A notable part of the hall is the thinly vaulted ceiling which uses illusionistic design to create the illusion of an open sky (Trompe-l’œil). On the medallion in the centre of the ceiling there is a representation of Bacchus to represent the economic base of the building as a centre of wine-production and wine-trading. …