Palazzo Busetti is located in the heart of Reggio Emilia, in Via Emilia, 1a.
Historical Notes
Located in the heart of the historic center, overlooking Piazza del Monte, the palace was born from the ambition of a wealthy 17th-century family, the Busetti counts. Construction began at the behest of Ferdinando Busetti in 1657 and was completed in 1674. Upon the death of his heirs in 1699, the estate passed to a charitable foundation. In the same year, the Episcopal Seminary was built, followed by the Jesuit college, along with a small theater, a church, and a large porticoed courtyard
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Between 1752 and 1783, the building also housed the University of Reggio, where Lazzaro Spallanzani taught. In the 20th century, the building underwent a redevelopment: in 1921, the famous Busetti restaurant and café, the printing press for the newspaper L’Italia Centrale, and the Banca Commerciale Italiana were installed there; between 1939 and the 1950s, the theater, church, and former convent were demolished or repurposed for public offices.
After a long period of neglect, a scientific restoration in the 2000s returned the complex to the city, now divided into the Galleria del Monte on the ground floor, and tertiary functions and residences on the upper floors.
A key event accompanied the redevelopment work: in 2014, excavations uncovered a stretch of Roman road that connected Regium Lepidi to Brixellum.
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The Architecture
The design is attributed to Bartolomeo Avanzini, an artist also active on the Palazzo Ducale in Modena, with Gian Lorenzo Bernini initially involved in the conceptual design phase. The architectural language of Palazzo Busetti is intended to be that of a Roman-style residence: a late-Renaissance/Baroque facade out of scale with the surrounding fabric, a rich decorative repertoire of shells, garlands, masks, and volutes, framing the openings and creating a play of contrasts between smooth and curved surfaces and between light and shadow.
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At the corner of Via Crispi, the Busetti counts coat of arms and the large wrought-iron lantern designed in the early twentieth century by Cirillo Manicardi stand out. The historic plan by Domenico Marchelli (1827) documents the large internal porticoed void, later altered and partially reinterpreted by contemporary interventions.
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The Interior
The interior reflects the monumentality of the building exterior. The ground floor retains high vaults with stucco decorations and medallions framing paintings by Francesco Viacavi, a student of Luca Ferrari, known as ‘da Reggio’.
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In the early 20th century, Alfonso Govi created additional frescoes. The interior portals are accented by imposing plaster frames, while the walls feature pastel shades and, in some cases, damask motifs. The floors feature alternating polychrome marble inlays room by room and, on the first floor, Venetian terrazzo. Today, the lower floors are accessible during the opening hours of the Galleria del Monte, which occupies the commercial section of the complex.
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