Palazzo Sanvitale, Neoclassical palace in central Parma, Italy

Palazzo Sanvitale is a Neoclassical palace on Piazzale Sanvitale in Parma, built around a large square courtyard with two more courtyards behind. Its long facade is divided into three parts; the central section has a false rusticated base, Ionic pilasters and a balustrade with statues. A 1787 scissor staircase with Doric columns leads to the piano nobile.

The original palace was built in the first half of the 16th century for the Lalatta family, occupying the eastern half of today's building with its facade on Strada Cairoli. It passed to the Prati and then the Cesi, and in 1639 to the Sanvitale through the marriage of Luigi Sanvitale and Lucrezia Cesi. In the second half of the 18th century Angelo Rasori, assisted by Domenico Cossetti, rebuilt it, raising the new north facade and the wing with the vestibule and staircase of honour, inaugurated on 8 July 1787 for the wedding of Stefano Sanvitale and Luigia Gonzaga.

The palace houses two museums displaying works by a 20th-century Parmesan painter and contemporary collections. Visitors can trace the artistic evolution across the exhibition rooms.

The palace is conveniently located in central Parma with regular visiting hours and guided tours available through the museum spaces. Plan adequate time to explore all exhibition areas and courtyard sections.

In the Sala del Bertoja, decorated around 1564, Jacopo Bertoja painted Apollo and the Muses making music at the centre of the ceiling, set inside a painted trompe-l'œil hanging tapestry. Along a ground-floor corridor, lunettes keep late-16th-century frescoes in the manner of Cesare Baglioni showing drawn-back curtains, landscapes, fruit garlands and putti.