Description
Palazzo Cannavina is an aristocratic palace in the old town of Campobasso, on the street of the same name, between Largo San Leonardo and Vico Fondaco della Farina. Behind a sober facade it holds five centuries of changes of hands among the city's great families.
The highlight from the outside is the imposing Baroque-style portal. Above it is a curious coat of arms: a pine tree with two lions facing each other on three hills, beneath a five-pointed crown that matches no known noble crown.
The building is a quadrangle around an inner courtyard, on three levels: the ground floor was the carriage house, and above are two main floors and a mezzanine. There were two private chapels, one for each main floor, and one remains.
The first core perhaps dates from the early decades of the 16th century: a coat of arms found inside recalls the 1530 wedding of Isabella di Capua and Ferrante I Gonzaga. The palace then passed to the Neapolitan nobleman Ottavio Vitaliano and later to the Carafa, dukes of Jelsi and feudal lords of the city.
In 1727, when Mario Carafa died without heirs, the palace passed to the Demanisti of Campobasso, who had bought back the fief and named a local farmer, Salvatore Romano, baron.
At the end of the 18th century they sold it to Michelangelo Salottolo, who rebuilt it from top to bottom: today's building dates from that time. Later it passed to the Cannavina family, who gave it its name.
Inside there were once lavish furnishings, such as the Louis XVI room, portraits of the owners, a library and a player piano that bore witness to the house's sumptuous balls.
Among the keepsakes stood out Admiral Nelson's telescope, given by his children to the Molise patriot Tito Barbieri, and a tricolor flag with the word "independenza" waved by Ferdinando Cannavina on the barricades of Naples in 1848. There were also the letters between the owners and Francesco D'Ovidio, senator and member of the Accademia della Crusca and the Accademia dei Lincei.
The highlight from the outside is the imposing Baroque-style portal. Above it is a curious coat of arms: a pine tree with two lions facing each other on three hills, beneath a five-pointed crown that matches no known noble crown.
The building is a quadrangle around an inner courtyard, on three levels: the ground floor was the carriage house, and above are two main floors and a mezzanine. There were two private chapels, one for each main floor, and one remains.
The first core perhaps dates from the early decades of the 16th century: a coat of arms found inside recalls the 1530 wedding of Isabella di Capua and Ferrante I Gonzaga. The palace then passed to the Neapolitan nobleman Ottavio Vitaliano and later to the Carafa, dukes of Jelsi and feudal lords of the city.
In 1727, when Mario Carafa died without heirs, the palace passed to the Demanisti of Campobasso, who had bought back the fief and named a local farmer, Salvatore Romano, baron.
At the end of the 18th century they sold it to Michelangelo Salottolo, who rebuilt it from top to bottom: today's building dates from that time. Later it passed to the Cannavina family, who gave it its name.
Inside there were once lavish furnishings, such as the Louis XVI room, portraits of the owners, a library and a player piano that bore witness to the house's sumptuous balls.
Among the keepsakes stood out Admiral Nelson's telescope, given by his children to the Molise patriot Tito Barbieri, and a tricolor flag with the word "independenza" waved by Ferdinando Cannavina on the barricades of Naples in 1848. There were also the letters between the owners and Francesco D'Ovidio, senator and member of the Accademia della Crusca and the Accademia dei Lincei.