Brief Historical Introduction
abou the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo
for the fourth centennial celebration (1599 - 1999)
The Ducal Palace in Sassuolo, one of the most outstanding
monuments of the Italian baroque style, rises on a very antique
place, where since the period of the duchess Matilda of Canossa
a fortified work was set up to defend the territories of the
Pope from the assualts of the imperials troops.
Then this castle became an ownership of the Della Rosa family,
who in the fifteenth century yielded it to Nicolo III Este and,
for some times, it was abandoned, simply being used as shelter
or military station for the army recruited by this noble family.
In 1946 when the duke Borso Este inherited the power for his
House, he elected Sassuolo as preferred holiday resort and let
a beautiful villa being built near the fort and in this way
the latter lost its mainly military function.
Then this residence passed to the Pio family, Lords in Carpi,
but it definitely returned to the possession of the Estensi
in 1599.
Nevertheless, Francesco I gave way to a project for a transformation
proper, from feudal castle to sumptuous palace, a real royal
palace like many other prince's residences of that time. This
transformation was carried out to have an ideal holiday resort,
to invite other noble people to great shooting parties, to offer
prestigious banquets or to organize splendid parties, in short,
to live in luxury and in the highest comfort.
In that period, being the architect Bartolomeo Avanzini in Modena
(about 1634) to work to the other great, monumental building
of the Esteni, i.e., the Ducal Palace in the capital city of
their dukedown and now seat of the Military Academy, he was
consulted in this regard and he was thus charged with this further
big work of art.
The building activity began immediately, but afte the too early
death of the duke, who had ordered it, it was brought forth
by other famous people of the House, such as the duchess Laura
Martinozzi (a relative of the renowned cardinal Mazarin) with
the help of her cousin Cesare Ignazio Este. Francesco II and
his wife Margherita Farnese lived there very often. Even Francesco
III, some times, went there and Ercole III did the same, but
in Europe the French Revolution and then Napoleon Bonaparte
were altering all those social aspects that up to that time
had governed the situation. In this way, the boundaries and
the assets of the State and of the small states (kingdoms, principalities,
etc.) that formed the then Europe changed too.
Therefore, several cities of ours, towns and villages were garrisoned
by the French revolutionary troops that has invaded northern
Italy.
The same occured in Sassuolo where in 1796 the Palace had been
expropriated by a rough French commisar, who came with the Napoleonic
troops and owned it for a year until it was yielded to a Milanese
purchaser for a sum of 369,445 lire, i.e. 4 soldos and 20 denarius!!!
It would be interesting and peculiar to compare the then value
with the current one!
Then the building became property of other owners until 1798,
when it passed to a French nobleman, a marquise D'Espagnac,
whose family took possession of the palace until 1882. Other
sessions followed until 1930, when it was definitely confiscated
and became part of the properties of the Kingdom and it was
yielded to the Military General Staff as complementary seat
of the Military Academy, as it nowadays still is, upon intervention
of Umberto of Savoy, Crown Prince (then cadet at the Academy
and General of the Army).
This gorgeous residence of the seventeenth century, famous for
being casket of splendid works of art (frescos by Boulanger,
paintings of renowned painters, stucoworks, jewellry and silverware,
statues, etc.) has also to be recalled for its sumptuous, grand
and blooming garden with its greenhouses (a further winter garden)
and its Peschiera (a work by Cavalli, an artist borne in Sassuolo)
a forerunner of a sort of beautiful and big "pool"
surrounded by its original boundary wall like an amphitheater,
called familiarly the "Fontanazzo" (Rough Fountain)
by the inhabitants of Sassuolo!
Fortunately, nowadays there is still an eloquent and clear evidence
of this interesting and particular architectural work. Many
famous guests were hosted in the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo. For
example: Christina of Sweden, the cardinal of the Rohan family,
the heir of the Kingdom of Austria Pietro Leopoldo, the legate
cardinal in Bologna Archetti and Duke Ferdinand II of Tuscany.
However, even if from a naive point of view,this wonderful architectural
example of the late seventeenth century seems practically unchanged
as for its general outline whereas time, the historical events,
several pillages and the general negligence had strongly languished
and impoverished the whole structure.
Special edition of 599 pieces, made of black lucite and acryloid
celluloid material, 18 kt two tone nib - sizes F, M, B, s. Features
cartridge/double reservoir power filling system. The outline
of the palace is angraved on pen's body.
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