Key to Umbria: Trevi
 


Palaces of the Valenti Family 


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The other important patrician palaces in Trevi have their own page in this site.

Palazzo Valenti, il Collegetto (1534)

Natimbene Valenti built the first palace here in the 15th century for the cadet branch of the family.  Benedetto Valenti built the present palace on the site. 





Palazzo dei Valenti di Riosecco (1545-56)

The brothers Sforza, Domizio and Alessandro Valenti began this palace and Sforza's son, Lelio Valenti completed it.  He is commemorated in the inscriptions above the last two of the windows on the first floor: 

  1. ✴One of these inscriptions refers to Lelio and his first wife, Ottavia Attavanti.

  2. ✴The second refers to Lelio and his second wife, Ortenzia Tomassoni.

This branch of the family enjoyed the title of Counts of Riosecco, an honour first conferred by Pope Julius III when he gave Alessandro Valenti the Villa di Riosecco outside Trevi.  Pope Pius V confirmed the honour and made it hereditary in 1566.

The last member of the family to own the palace was Paolo Valenti, who was a canon of Sant' Emiliano in the early 19th century.  He put it at the disposal of the Collegio Lucarini for a period after an earthquake had damaged Palazzo Lucarini (see above) in 1832.  (The college subsequently moved to the convent of San Francesco opposite.

Palazzo Valenti (1575)


Benedetto Valenti lived at an earlier palace on this site in the 16th century.  He was Procurator Fiscal to Pope Clement VIII (who stayed these in 1532 on his way to Bologna) and Pope Paul III (who stayed here in 1535).   The present palace houses his important collection of Roman artefacts, which was the subject of a book (1537) "Antiquitates Valentinae" by Francesco Alighieri, a direct descendant of Dante.

Romolo di Benedetto Valenti built the present palace and Giacomo di Quintiliano extended it in 1670.  [The palace also houses two frescoes (14th century) that were recently detached from Palazzo Trinci, Foligno, which depict Pentecost and the raising of Lazarus.]

Palazzo Valenti della Prepositura (ca. 1650)

Giovanni Battista Valenti built this palace (also known as il Palazzino).  It passed to Anton Francesco Valenti in the early 18th century and he included it in the family "prepositura".  This was an endowment  for the second sons of the family, who generally went into the church.  However, it passed out of the ownership of the family in 1742.

The palace is now a hotel and restaurant, Hotel Antica Dimora alla Rocca.

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