Casa Barnekow

Casa Barnekow is a medieval house on Anagni's main street, transformed in the nineteenth century by its Swedish owner Alberto Barnekow. Its façade, which Barnekow decorated over twenty-five years, combines frescoes, marble tablets and inscriptions into an unusual programme of alchemical and esoteric imagery.

Why it matters

The house brings together medieval architecture and the personal vision of its later owner. Barnekow bought it in 1860 and treated the façade as a surface for a programme he called the Tribuna Albertina. The town's heritage account describes the decoration as a distinctive record of nineteenth-century interest in alchemy and esoteric thought.

What to notice

Look for the interplay of painted panels, marble tablets and inscriptions across the façade. The texts appear in Swedish, Italian and French, framed by floral decoration, Christian symbols and alchemical signs. The building retains its medieval structure, including an external staircase with a landing loggia, while Barnekow's decoration gives it a distinctly individual character.

Context and history

Before Barnekow acquired the house, it belonged to the Tomasi, Ciprani and Gigli families; Gregorovius described it as Casa Gigli in 1856. Barnekow's twenty-five-year decoration campaign became the defining feature of the building. Later studies by local historian Pietro Zappasodi interpreted the project as an attempt to create a contemplative, philosophical home, and archaeologist G. Viti devoted a volume to the façade.