Palazzo Mustilli

Palazzo Mustilli is an eighteenth-century residence in Sant'Agata de' Goti, rebuilt after the 1732 earthquake. Its tuff cellars and hanging garden, linked to the house by a small bridge, connect the family's architectural history with its long association with wine.

Why it matters

The Mustilli family came to Sant'Agata de' Goti from Ravello before the end of the fifteenth century. After the 1732 earthquake, Francesco Andrea Mustilli rebuilt the palace in the form of a noble residence, with service spaces below and the piano nobile above. In 1804 the family added a hanging garden on neighbouring land, connected to the house by a bridge. The palace is part of the regional In Dimora project for historic residences.

What to notice

Ancient column drums, including one of red granite, were set at the corners of the eighteenth-century building. The extensive cellars beneath the palace block have also been associated with a possible earlier use as a communal grain store during a siege. The family describes them as reaching about sixteen metres into the tuff.

The cellars also connect the house to local winemaking. Cesare Mustilli introduced modern methods in the late nineteenth century. Later, Leonardo Mustilli devoted himself to viticulture from 1960 and helped recover native varieties, especially Falanghina. According to the family, the first modern Falanghina was produced here in 1979; the Sant'Agata de' Goti DOC followed in 1993.

Context and history

The palace's cellar history spans domestic architecture and agricultural production. From late nineteenth-century winemaking through Leonardo Mustilli's work in the 1960s and 1970s, the family estate helped revive Falanghina in the area. The historic cellars preserve the relationship between the family residence and the estate's agricultural identity.