It is situated in the Prosto of Piuro locality, within two kilometres of Chiavenna, in the Bregaglia Valley. Built in the sixteenth century by two of the Vertemate brothers from one of the richest families of the small town, it is one of the most prestigious elegant houses of the Lombardy area.
It is the only building that survived the landslide of 1618, which submerged the village with lots of its inhabitants.
The palace is a very beautiful masterpiece of the Renaissance, immersed in a charming environment, which provides the real life story of a sixteenth-seventeenth-century aristocratic family.
The front of the palace is simple and essential, surrounded by light and functional spaces as well as the Italian garden with the fishpond and the double exedra-shaped banister. Beside the palace, there is an orchard, a vineyard, the chestnut wood at the back of the palace and a succession of simple country buildings for running the farms which used to be carried out at the estate such as: the press, the cattle sheds and the ice-house.
Inside the palace, the walls and the arched ceilings are richly painted with frescos representing large scenes and mythological figures, especially based on the Ovid´s metamorphosis.
Stüe (rooms covered by wood) and embroidered ceilings are certainly the wonders of the palace. By visiting each single room you can feel the atmosphere of the ancient times. Unfortunately we do not know the names of the architects who designed and created the palace; even the artists who made the wonderful wooden ceilings are unknown.
The Italian gardens, the private house, the wide chestnut wood, where the autumnal colours burst out in autumn, the vast orchards, the gardens, the vineyard and the cottages: the screw press, the cold storage room (a deep cylindrical hole where snow or ice is banked in winter), the metato, a shed where chestnuts were dried and the alembic to use the marc and extract the grappa, all serve to embellish the palace.
OPENING HOURS 2023
March: 2-3, 9-10, 16-17.
From 23rd March to 3rd November: every day (excluding non-holiday Wednesdays)
November: 9-10, 16-17, 23-24.
Guided tours only: 10 - 11 - 14:30 - 15:30 and 16:30
Reservations are highly recommended.
For visits on public holidays the reservation must be made by Saturday at 18:50.
Open by appointment for groups even after hours.
PRICES
Full ticket: € 8,00
Reduced ticket: € 6,00
- students;
- organized groups with private guide;
- over 60s;
- FAI, TCI and Bagatti Valsecchi Museum members.
Reduced ticket: € 5,00
- school groups with private guide.
Free admission:
- kids under 6;
- Person with disabilities;
- Journalists, only if enrolled in the Italian Association of Journalists. They are requested to show a valid certificate for the current year;
For groups of more than 15 participants, it is necessary to book a visit with a private guide.
For the owners of the MondoParchi FamilyCard, the MondoParchi One Day and the MondoParchi Free Fun special reductions: www.mondoparchi.it.
