House of Valentino della Pagnotta
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION
According to Cesare Pinzi, a historian from Viterbo, the building was constructed with features typical of the private buildings of Viterbo from the late Middle Ages, dating from the thirteenth century. We have learned from the historical archive that the prior of Viterbo owned the building. Niccolò della Tuccia, a historian from Viterbo, described the painting of the Madonna done by master Valentino “Pica” for the chapel of the city in 1458. Della Tuccia includes among the Priors of the town depicted in the painting, Valentino della Pagnotta, a rich farmer elected Prior in 1458, “who lived near the fountain of S. Lorenzo” The building is still a great example of medieval architecture and retains the name Valentino della Pagnotta. Around 1920, the building went under restoration, and it took the appearance of the original thirteenth-century architecture. The entrance stairs were built at the same time of the lowering of the square and the stairs of the Cathedral. The bombings of 1944 did not spare the building. After the war, the building was reconstructed with a philological spirit. The cladding was removed, which is evident from the photos from the end of ‘800. They closed the two arches of the front elevation, returning the façade of the porch to its original appearance. Today part of the building is used for commercial activity. The building is located on the left side of Piazza San Lorenzo. The monument is organically linked to the context of the square and built in peperino stone. The façade presents a harmonious blend of architectural elements, with a double-functioning arch, that is simultaneously decorative and constructive. The lower level façade is marked by two round arches supported by a central pillar and two half columns, all decorated a crochet at the top of the columns. Above them is a (string course band) supported by brackets, which emphasize the two Gothic windows that highlight aspects similar to the Loggia of the Popes. Above the entrance there is a coat of arms with three cotisse and four stripes loaded from flowers with three petals each.A reproduction of This house, a typical example of medieval architecture, was admired in the Ethnographic exposition in Rome in 1911, along with Casa Poscia and the Pianoscarano Fountain reproductions.
PALAZZO DI VALENTINO DELLA PAGNOTTA (House of Valentino della Pagnotta)
traduzione di Cher Hale, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Studentessa del programma USAC presso Università degli studi della Tuscia.
ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
L. P. BONELLI, Casa di Valentino della Pagnotta , in «Il centro storico di Viterbo», Betagamma, Viterbo 2001, pp. 209-213 .NICCOLÒ DELLA TUCCIA, Cronaca di Viterbo, a cura di I. Ciampi, in Cronache e statuti della città di Viterbo, Firenze, G. P. Viesseux, 1872.
C. Pinzi, I principali monumenti di Viterbo. Guida pel visitatore, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1911.
C. Pinzi, Storia della città di Viterbo, voll. I-III, Roma, 1887/89, vol. IV, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1913.
G. RUTELLI, L’Architettura italiana all’Esposizione Internazionale di Roma, Palermo 1911.
A. SCRIATTOLI, Viterbo nei suoi monumenti, Roma 1915-20.
G. Signorelli, Viterbo nella storia della Chiesa, Viterbo, 1907-1969.
M. Signorelli, Guida di Viterbo. Monumenti del centro cittadini, Viterbo, Agnesotti, 1964.
