This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Palazzo Sforza in Proceno: the coat of arms with the lion and lilies overlooking the square
Dominating the main square of Proceno, in the province of Viterbo, Palazzo Sforza was constructed in the mid-16th century for Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza. The main portal is believed to have been designed by Sangallo, while the construction, lasting about seven years, was directed by Nanni di Baccio Bigio. Adorning the main doorway is a coat of arms displaying the lion rampant of the Sforza of Santa Fiora alongside the fleurs-de-lis (lilies) of the Farnese family: the Cardinal’s mother was Costanza, daughter of Pope Paul III. Two noble houses united in a single emblem.
Collapses, changes of ownership, and restoration
The Cardinal's brother, Paolo, completed the palazzo with a chapel, a loggia overlooking the Paglia Valley, and a cantonata (corner structure), of which only a few traces remain today following structural collapses in 1873 and 1890. Over the following centuries, the building changed hands multiple times, passing into the estates of the Mazzanti, Selvi, Del Monte, and finally Severi families. This long historical stratification concluded in 1985, when the local Municipality purchased the complex, and embarked on extensive restoration works.
The palace nowadays
The layout of the original Renaissance structure has been retained, with frescoed vaults, a central courtyard with a travertine well, and a coffered ceiling on the piano nobile (main floor). The basement level houses the Rural Life Museum (Museo della Civiltà Contadina).
