House of degli Honorij, Renaissance palace in Piazza Bra, Verona, Italy.
The Palazzo degli Honorij, also called Palazzo Guastaverza, stands on the western side of Piazza Bra. Its ground level is a portico of five broad arches on rusticated piers with Doric capitals, the only portico Sanmicheli designed for a Veronese palace; the upper floors were finished after his death. The design draws formally and materially on the nearby Arena.
The palace was commissioned by the wealthy degli Honorij family around the mid-16th century and designed by the renowned architect Michele Sanmicheli. The building was created to demonstrate the family's social status and power in Verona.
The palace is also called palazzo Guastaverza, after the family that owned it in later centuries before it passed to the Sparavieri and, in 1887, to the Malfatti. The frescoed facade once carried flower and fruit festoons above the portico, symbolic figures between windows and the Honorij coats of arms beneath the sills; parts of the crowning decoration remain visible.
The palace is located in a busy part of Piazza Bra, right next to the Arena di Verona where many visitors pass through. The surrounding area has numerous restaurants and cafes where you can rest before or after a visit.
The five large arches of the portico set this building apart from other Sanmicheli palaces in the city and show inspiration from the nearby Arena. This similarity to the ancient Roman structure was likely a deliberate choice to emphasize the family's connection to classical ideals.
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