Palazzo Angeli

Palazzo Angeli is an eighteenth-century Neoclassical residence in Rovigo, designed by the Veronese architect Francesco Schiavi for the Angeli family. Its street façade gives little hint of the frescoed rooms and sculptural decoration inside.

Why it matters

Count Giovanni Battista Angeli commissioned the palace around 1780. The main salon contains frescoes by Giambattista Canal, including scenes from Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata and mythological subjects. The palace later became public property and now accommodates the University of Ferrara’s law teaching in Rovigo.

What to notice

The façade is a restrained Neoclassical composition, with the Angeli family arms in the tympanum above the entrance. Inside, Canal's frescoes are complemented by stuccoes by Basilio Serena. On the staircase are statues of Concordia and the personifications of the design arts, carved by Gaetano Muttoni in 1785. The palace's frescoed rooms and sculpture are part of a larger decorative programme associated with its late eighteenth-century design.

Context and history

The palace reflects the Angeli family's standing among Rovigo's established noble houses. In 1797 Nicolò Venier, the last Venetian podestà of Rovigo, was confined here as the Republic of Venice ended. In 1876 the last family heir donated the building to the Comune. It subsequently served as a school, offices, the Prefect's residence and Questura headquarters. A restoration campaign begun in 2019 preceded the building's current university use.