Palazzo Scaglia di Verrua, Renaissance palace in Turin, Italy.
Palazzo Scaglia di Verrua is a Renaissance palace in the historic center of Turin, its facade covered in late 16th-century frescoes. The building has a courtyard with Renaissance detailing and today contains apartments, a small hotel, and ground-floor workshops.
Construction began in 1585, commissioned by Abbot Filiberto Scaglia di Verrua, and the building passed soon after to Giacomo Solaro, who in 1603 hired the Brescian painter Antonio Parentani to fresco the facade and courtyard. Between 1650 and 1665 the architect G. M. Garabello altered the palace for the Scaglia di Verrua. In 1762 the family extended the complex with rented houses on today's Via Garibaldi, and in 1784 at the corner of Via Stampatori and Via Barbaroux.
The facade of Palazzo Scaglia di Verrua is covered with frescoes showing landscapes, deities, and allegorical figures set within painted architectural frames, which is rare in Turin. This kind of painted exterior was a direct way for noble families to show their wealth and ambitions to anyone passing in the street.
The building stands at Via Stampatori 4 in Turin's historic center and is easy to find on foot. The painted facade can be seen from the street at any time, and the courtyard is sometimes accessible to visitors.
Palazzo Scaglia di Verrua is one of only two significant Renaissance buildings left in Turin and never went through the Baroque changes that altered most other palaces in the city. This makes it a rare example of how a Turinese noble residence actually looked in the late 16th century.
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