As we mentioned in previous articles probably the finest example of Florentine renaissance architecture in Barga, the Palazzo Angelio in Barga Vecchia has finally been getting some renovations to its world weary and damaged façade which for many years had be reduced to a kind of “peek a boo, now you see me, now you don’t” game with parts of its delicate decorations desperately trying to show through from underneath the terrible grey pebble dash finish that was slapped all over it some time in the recent past. This morning workmen completed the work on the roof of the palazzo and started to remove some of the scaffolding which has been covering up the building since April. The white sheeting which has kept the curious eyes of the Barghigiani from seeing the transformation taking place on what is probably the finest building in Barga Vecchia is still firmly wrapped around the palazzo so we sent the award winning photographer O’Connor to see if he could get some inside information about just what will be the final colour.
This morning O’Connor mounted the scaffolding with Luciano Zanella, painter and specialist decorator and well known in Barga Vecchia for his work on some of the other large palazzo’s* and the artist Giorgio Cella, also known for his work on the decorations in and outside of the Liberty style Hotel Villa Moorings. His images below show that the work still has some way to go but very clearly we can see the Liberty style decoration that adorn the façade.
Palazzo Angelio
This piazza, once known as Piazza Aiaccia, owes its present name to two buildings built by the Angeli family, who were reknown for producing poets, writers, prelates and soldiers. The most famous of these, Pietro Angeli (1512-1573), also known by his knickname “Bargeo”, was a poet, a soldier and a professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Pisa.
One of the Angeli buildings on this piazza was formerly the home of the journalist, writer and typographer Pietro Groppi (1831 – 1908), who wrote a biography of Pietro Angelio and founded the weekly newspaper “The Serchio Echo” and which now houses the barganews and barga jazz offices and the barganews book exchange.
* Luciano Zanella, painter and specialist decorator and well known in Barga Vecchia for his work on some of the other large palazzo’s – articles can be seen here:
Palazzo Balduini here | Palazzo 2 here | Palazzo Salvi here | Palazzo 3 here | Palazzo Pancrazi here