Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi is an urban palace, first of the Princes Valguarnera and then of the Princes Gangi, situated in the Piazza Croce dei Vespri, in the ancient quarter of the Kalsa in the city of Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. The palace still retains its original rich Rococo interior decoration, and is located a block south of the church of Sant'Anna la Misericordia.
The house was constructed in several phases during the 18th century and completed in circa 1780. The palace is designed in the Baroque style, although its ornamentation is of a more severe form in respect of what is generally accepted as Sicilian Baroque. The tall windows of the piano nobile are decorated with alternating pointed and segmented pediments, while the windows of the lower and upper floors are much smaller, almost cell like, indicating a more modest function of the rooms they belong. In this way the architecture could be said to be more Renaissance than Baroque.
In 1750 the interior was created in a Rococo style by Marianna Valguarnera, with special furniture in the very ornate style, created by local craftsmen. The creation of the house took so long that the Baroque style passed out of fashion in favour of the neoclassical style, and it was during this era that the large circular and domed dining room was created with its painted panels on the dome by Giuseppe Velasco.
In 1963 the palazzo, and most memorably its ballroom, were the setting for Luchino Visconti's film' Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). Today, while the famous ballroom may be hired for events, and some rooms toured by reservation; the rest of the house is still used as a private residence.
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco, also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, and trompe-l'œil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. It is often described as the final expression of the Baroque movement.
The Catherine Palace is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
Villa del Poggio Imperiale is a predominantly neoclassical former grand ducal villa in Arcetri, just to the south of Florence in Tuscany, Central Italy. Beginning as a villa of the Baroncelli of Florence, it was seized by the Medici, became the home of a homicidal and unfaithful husband, and a lavish retreat for a Grand Duchess with imperial pretensions. Later given to Napoleon's sister, it was reclaimed by the hereditary rulers of Tuscany before being finally converted to a prestigious girls' school. During its long history, it has often been at the centre of Italy's turbulent history, and has been rebuilt and redesigned many times.
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but also by distinctive grinning masks and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique architectural identity.
The Residenz in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displays from the former royal collections.
Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian Kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, although the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the site was built between 1749 and 1769. The complex in the past was referred to as either the Royal Palace or the Royal Castle. The castle now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest Historical Museum.
Palazzo Labia is a baroque palace in Venice, Italy. Built in the 17th–18th century, it is one of the last great palazzi of Venice. Little known outside of Italy, it is most notable for the remarkable frescoed ballroom painted 1746–47 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, with decorative works in trompe-l'œil by Gerolamo Mengozzi-Colonna.
The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian Baroque palace.
Renaissance Revival architecture is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes. Under the broad designation Renaissance architecture 19th-century architects and critics went beyond the architectural style which began in Florence and Central Italy in the early 15th century as an expression of Renaissance humanism; they also included styles that can be identified as Mannerist or Baroque. Self-applied style designations were rife in the mid- and later 19th century: "Neo-Renaissance" might be applied by contemporaries to structures that others called "Italianate", or when many French Baroque features are present.
Sanssouci is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it, too, is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the surrounding park. The palace was designed and built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to meet Frederick's need for a private residence where he could escape the pomp and ceremony of the royal court. The palace's name is a French phrase meaning "without worries" or "carefree", emphasising that the palace was meant as a place of relaxation rather than a seat of power.
The Palace of Queluz is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for King José I's brother, Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and king jure uxoris to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Pedro III's death in 1786. Following the destruction of Ajuda Palace by fire in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese Prince Regent João, and his family, and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807, following the French invasion of Portugal.
Gangi is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Palermo. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia association.
The Villa Spedalotto is the country home of the Paternò di Spedalotto family. The villa is situated on a hill surrounded by olive groves at Bagheria, near Palermo in Sicily. As all the Villas in Bagheria, it was built as a country house, and was traditionally used by the family only during the spring and autumn. While considered a national monument, it remains a private residence.
The Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco is a large urban palace, located on piazza Duomo, across from the present city hall and diagonal to the Cathedral of Syracuse, in the island of Ortigia in the city of Syracuse in Sicily, Italy.
Italian Baroque architecture refers to Baroque architecture in Italy.
Italian Rococo interior design refers to interior decoration in Italy during the Rococo period, which went from the early 18th century to around the 1760s.
Palazzo Isnello is an historic palazzo situated between the ancient via del Cassaro and Piazza Borsa, in the Kalsa quarter of Palermo, Sicily.
The architecture of the Rococo period, roughly aligning with the reign of Louis XV in France from 1715 to 1774, was characterized by the use of rocaile motifs, including shells, curves, mascarons, arabesques, and other classical elements, as well as by the partial abandonment of symmetry of earlier Baroque styles in architectural design, including facades, cornices, and pediments, in favor of a more flexible and visually interesting design which still featured a degree of classical regularity. Light pastel colors, including blues, greens, and pinks replaced darker Baroque elements such as exposed limestone elevations and heavy use of gilding.