Palazzo Sartorelli

Overlooking the southern side of Reggiolo’s main square, Palazzo Sartoretti is one of the town's most representative landmarks.

Of sixteenth-century origin, the palace is now home to the "Giorgio Ambrosoli" Municipal Library and opens up at the back onto a large public park, a green space highly cherished by the community and the setting for cultural activities and events.

History and Architecture

For over two centuries, the palace belonged to the Sartoretti family, historically linked to the Habsburgs.

Originally from Switzerland, the Sartorettis served as palace stewards and treasurers of the Empire's Royal Treasury, in addition to long managing the collection of customs duties for the Duchy of Guastalla.

In 1765, the family thoroughly renovated the building, which took on its current eighteenth-century layout, enriched between the late 18th and early 19th centuries with neoclassical-style interior decorations.

The long front of the palace, facing the square, hides the large park behind it from view.

Access is through a large archway built into the pre-existing tower, which became the central body of the building during the eighteenth-century remodeling.

The two irregular wings extending toward the green area enclose the historical portion of the ornamental garden.

The Historic Park

The park, which spans just over one hectare, preserves traces of its transformations over time.

Originally an Italian-style garden, it was remodeled in the nineteenth century according to the romantic taste of the English landscape garden, featuring rolling flowerbeds and large trees.

In the section closest to the palace, there are four historical flowerbeds with centuries-old lime trees, magnolias, yews, plane trees, wintersweets, and other ornamental shrubs.

Slightly further on, wider flowerbeds host horse chestnuts, hackberries, English oaks, and a beautiful ash tree that grew on the banks of the ancient canal that crossed Reggiolo until the mid-twentieth century.

Proceeding southward, the park takes on the appearance of an equipped garden: it features a children's play area, spaces for outdoor performances with a stage and a kiosk, and a fenced area that houses small goats, ducks, and small domestic animals.

The eastern part, meanwhile, maintains the character of an orchard, with cherry plums, apple trees, pear trees, walnut trees, elders, and other traditional species, alongside a small vegetable garden and a nursery managed by ecological guards.

Mixed hedges of wild shrubs border the park and offer shelter to numerous bird species, while rabbits and chickens roam freely in certain green areas, helping to create a familiar and welcoming environment.

From Noble Palace to Public Asset

Following the death in 1979 of Donna Amelia Sartoretti, the last descendant of the family, the palace and its annexed lands passed, by her will, into the possession of the Municipality of Reggiolo and the AUSL (Local Health Authority), under a restriction requiring their use for social purposes.

Part of the building was allocated for municipal offices, while the piano nobile, with its decorated rooms, has hosted the Civic Library since 2003.

Following the severe damage suffered during the 2012 earthquake, the palace underwent a long and meticulous restoration.

The building was returned to the citizens on July 7, 2021, the feast day of Reggiolo's patron saint San Venerio, once again becoming a place of gathering, culture, and shared memory.