Palazzo Orsetti

Palazzo Orsetti is a sixteenth-century residence on Via Santa Giustina, built by the Diodati family and later owned by the Orsetti. Today it serves as a seat of the Comune and contains a painted staircase, a Pontormo canvas and ceremonial halls.

Why it matters

Palazzo Orsetti combines municipal functions with historic interiors. The Diodati family built the residence on Via Santa Giustina in the sixteenth century over medieval foundations; it later took the name of the Orsetti family. Palazzo Orsetti houses municipal offices and civic reception rooms. The art inside is proportional to the function. Its scenographic staircase is lined with portraits of elders, gonfalonieri and senators of the Republic of Lucca; on the landing hang Pietro Paolini's "The Conspiracy Against Wallenstein" and Pontormo's "Amor and Psyche". The Sala Verde is distinguished by its green drapes and brocade coverings, while the Sala degli Specchi retains its historic mirrors.

What to notice

Outside, two imposing facades face different streets, each with a monumental entrance, and the sandstone frames carry carved trophies in relief — one portal crowned by a triton, the other by a siren — while a high-walled garden sits in front of the building. The long corridor leads to the painted staircase described above. Two rooms in the north wing retain sixteenth-century decorated wooden beams, while the ground-floor northern wing holds nineteenth-century frescoed rooms. The principal rooms include the Sala degli Specchi, originally the ballroom, with eighteenth-century elements and Empire-style furniture; the Sala Verde, named for its green drapes and brocade coverings; and the Sala della Musica, with original furniture and an eighteenth-century chandelier. A neoclassical room holds a seventeenth-century allegory of the Republic of Lucca beneath the motto "Charitas et Veritas Iustitia et Pax Osculatae Sunt". Near a secondary entrance hangs a "Santa Cecilia" by Onofrio Avellino. The ground-floor Sala di Rappresentanza contains five paintings by Alfredo Catarsini, including views of marble quarries and seascapes, and works associated with his Riflessismo and Simbolismo Meccanico.

Context and history

The building condenses the career of a Lucchese family into stone: merchant-enriched, palace-built, name-giving. The Diodati constructed it in the Cinquecento over medieval foundations, and its double historical name, Palazzo Diodati Orsetti, records both the builders and the later owners. When the palace passed to public use it became one of the seats of the Comune, and its rooms were adapted for civic representation while retaining aristocratic fittings. The art collection reflects Lucca's seventeenth-century taste, with Pietro Paolini's conspiracy scene on the landing alongside works by Pontormo and Avellino. The Catarsini paintings connect the palace's historic interiors with twentieth-century art.