Description
Palazzo Zabarella is a medieval noble palace on the corner of Via Zabarella and Via San Francesco, in central Padua, best known for the major art exhibitions of the Fondazione Bano, often devoted to Italian painters of the 19th and 20th centuries.
From outside, the square tower of the 12th-13th century stands out: at its base, six courses of large reused blocks of trachyte and limestone, with brick above. Inside, some Neoclassical decorations survive, painted partly by Francesco Hayez in 1818-1819.
The palace belonged to the Da Carrara and then, for over four centuries, to the Zabarella. Reused Roman bricks and stones mix in its walls, perhaps also to show off the owners' wealth.
The last Zabarella, Giacomo, died childless in 1846. From 1920 the palace was the seat of a bank, then of a club; after almost ten years of restoration and archaeological digs, it reopened in 1996.
From outside, the square tower of the 12th-13th century stands out: at its base, six courses of large reused blocks of trachyte and limestone, with brick above. Inside, some Neoclassical decorations survive, painted partly by Francesco Hayez in 1818-1819.
The palace belonged to the Da Carrara and then, for over four centuries, to the Zabarella. Reused Roman bricks and stones mix in its walls, perhaps also to show off the owners' wealth.
The last Zabarella, Giacomo, died childless in 1846. From 1920 the palace was the seat of a bank, then of a club; after almost ten years of restoration and archaeological digs, it reopened in 1996.