Palazzo Mezzacapo

On Corso Reginna, the former residence of the Mezzacapo marquises has a carved wooden door, a courtyard with twin marble staircases and gardens with geometric beds.

Why it matters

Palazzo Mezzacapo was the town residence of the Mezzacapo marquises. It later served as the town hall. The palace's gardens have interconnected basins and beds arranged in the shape of a Maltese cross.

What to notice

The carved wooden door frames a courtyard with two symmetrical marble staircases to the upper floors. The street front has decorative elements associated with eighteenth-century architecture in Maiori. At the rear, garden basins are interconnected and beds are laid out in the shape of a Maltese cross, historically planted with roses and violets.

Context and history

The Mezzacapo were among the leading families of Maiori, holding the marchese title and properties across the town, and the palace on Corso Reginna was their urban seat. The building's documented life in public records is modern: it became the town hall, and the municipal page that currently describes it records its conversion to cultural functions, housing the biblioteca comunale, the archivio storico and a cultural workshop alongside some municipal offices. The palace reopened to public cultural use in 2023 after works, and the municipal page lists an elevator among its access provisions, confirming the adaptation of the historic structure to public service. Guide sources describe an eighteenth-century decorative campaign. Palazzo Mezzacapo is distinct from Castello Mezzacapo, also called Miramare, a separate nineteenth-century residence on a rocky spur in the comune.