Palazzo Spalletti Trivelli (già Guicciardi)

An elegant historical residence in the heart of Reggio Emilia, Palazzo Spalletti Trivelli - now the headquarters of Credito Emiliano (Credem) - is one of the most refined examples of aristocratic architecture in the city.
Purchased by the bank in 1940, the palace has undergone major restorations that returned it to its former glory while preserving its artistic and historical value.
The building dates back to the fifteenth century, but it owes its monumental layout to the profound transformation initiated in 1685 by the Guicciardi brothers, entrepreneurs in the flourishing silk trade.
They promoted a radical makeover of the property inspired by grand Roman palaces, entrusting the project to architect Giovan Maria Ferraroni.
The result was a residence of exceptional prestige, so much so that at the end of the seventeenth century, the palace was deemed worthy of hosting Napoleon Bonaparte during his passage through the city during the Italian Campaign.
In 1830, the palace was purchased by Count Gianbattista Spalletti Trivelli, who commissioned an elegant Neoclassical modernization designed by architect Pietro Marchelli.
The interiors were enriched with highly valuable decorative works: Prospero Minghetti created the splendid ceiling depicting Apollo on the Chariot of the Sun and the Procession of the Hours, inspired by Guido Reni's famous fresco in Rome's Casino Pallavicini Rospigliosi, while the scenographer Vincenzo Carnevali designed the monumental trompe-l’œil decoration of the ballroom, featuring faux colonnades and painted drapery.

The Credem Art Collections

The rooms now used for offices and meeting spaces house the Credem collection of ancient paintings, one of the most significant private bank collections.
It includes masterpieces by the main Emilian masters between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, such as: the Ecce Homo by Guido Reni, the Cimmerian Sibyl by Guercino, and The Deposition by Antonio Tiarini, as well as works by Lorenzo Costa and Camillo Procaccini.
Alongside Western art, Credem has developed over time an extraordinary collection of Oriental art, today considered one of the rarest private collections in Italy.
It brings together precious objects in cloisonné enamel, porcelain, bronze, and terracotta from China, Japan, Mongolia, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and the region of Gandhara art, which developed between present-day northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Between the Ancient and Contemporary

Although Credem's collecting vocation is predominantly focused on ancient art, the collection also includes nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculptures and paintings, an area that the bank continues to enrich with new acquisitions. In the 1990s, the palace courtyard was further enhanced by the addition of the bronze group Adam and Eve by Arturo Martini.
It came from Villa Ottolenghi in Acqui Terme, where it originally decorated the garden known as "Il Paradiso Terrestre" (The Earthly Paradise).
This work creates an evocative dialogue between modern art and historical architecture.