Hôtel Ferraris, 18th century private mansion in Haut-Bourgeois Street, Nancy, France.

Hôtel Ferraris is an 18th-century private mansion on Haut-Bourgeois Street with a symmetrical facade and rectangular central courtyard. The interior features an Italian-style staircase and four formal reception rooms connected in sequence on the first floor.

Built between 1715 and 1733 for Louis de Ferraris, chamberlain to the Austrian Emperor, the mansion was designed by architect Germain Boffrand, First Architect to Duke Leopold. This commission made it one of the key works of baroque architecture in Nancy.

The painted ceiling above the second-floor loggia is attributed to Italian painter Giacomo Barilli, who died in 1723 and trained under Francesco Galli da Bibiena. Its trompe-l'oeil grisaille gallery underside imitates coffers with stylised leaves and shells, while two opposed cartouches show trophies and musical instruments. Under the Empire, a painted sheet-metal eagle was added, its head aligned with the rooftop weathervane of the neighbouring Vioménil property.

The building now houses a regional heritage office and the interior is typically open to visitors during Heritage Days events. It is best to plan your visit around these special opening dates to see the rooms and decorations inside.

The Neptune fountain in the courtyard once had two sculpted groups of cupids and dolphins, lost after the First World War; traces of a painted false grotto with shells survive around it. The stair ceiling's trompe-l'oeil, attributed to Giacomo Barilli (d. 1723), shows clouds, birds and chubby children's heads; under the Empire a painted sheet-metal eagle was added, its head aligned with the roof weathervane.