Palazzo Leoni Montanari, Vicenza

Construction was commissioned in 1678 by Giovanni Leoni Montanari, a wealthy textile merchant who sought elevation into the nobility. The architects remain unknown, though the Borrella firm of Vicenza and the Lombard architect Giuseppe Marchi are associated with its design. The interior decoration involved the Lombard Paracca family as stucco workers and painters, the Tyrolese painter Giuseppe Alberti, the French painter Louis Dorigny, and the Bassanese sculptor Angelo Marinali. Frescoes by Paolo Pagani with Greek-Roman mythological themes were completed in 1692.

In 1808, Count Girolamo Egidio di Velo inherited the palace from his grandmother Laura Conti Montanari. An amateur collector of Greek and Roman antiquities who had made important archaeological discoveries, he redecorated the main floor in neoclassical style with stuccos and frescoes, partially altering the Baroque layout. The palace passed to the Banca Cattolica Vicentina in 1908, which made it its headquarters; the bank later became Banca Cattolica del Veneto in 1930. The building survived World War II bombings that struck the surrounding area. In January 1990, Banco Ambrosiano Veneto shifted the palace's function from corporate representation to cultural activities. After restoration in the late 1970s, the palace became a museum in 1999. It is now owned by Intesa Sanpaolo and integrated into the Gallerie d'Italia circuit.

The museum's collections center on three principal areas: 18th-century Venetian painting, Russian icons, and ancient Greek pottery. The painting collection emphasizes vedute and group portraits by artists trained in the Venetian tradition. The Russian icon collection numbers approximately four hundred works. The ancient pottery collection comprises roughly five hundred painted vases, mainly from excavations at Ruvo di Puglia. The holdings reflect the dual heritage of the palace: the artistic patronage of the Leoni Montanari family and the archaeological interests of Count Girolamo Egidio di Velo.

The painting collection includes works by Francesco Albotto, Canaletto, Luca Carlevarijs, Francesco and Giacomo Guardi, Pietro Longhi, Bartolomeo Pedon, Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, the studio of Marco Ricci, and Francesco Zuccarelli. Works by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his son Gian Domenico Tiepolo are also present. In sculpture, the collection features The Fall of the Rebellious Angels, a virtuoso marble work with approximately sixty figures. The Russian icons and Greek vases constitute significant holdings in their respective categories.

The palace was erected on property the Leoni Montanari family already owned, incorporating silk-spinning rooms within the residence. This functional choice influenced the facade and interior style, which departed from the Renaissance classicism of Andrea Palladio that dominates much of Vicenza. Construction was completed in two phases, finishing only in the second half of the 18th century.

The interior contains richly decorated rooms with frescoes and stuccos drawing on Greco-Roman tradition and allegory. On the ground floor, the west side of the courtyard features the Loggia of Hercules, named for the group of Hercules Slaying the Dragon Ladon in a first-floor niche. The staircase to the main floor displays the eagle and lion of the Leoni Montanari arms in the overdoors.

The main floor includes the Salon of Apollo, with a ceiling showing The Triumph of Apollo with the Muses and Saturn, and wall scenes of Apollo and Diana Slaying the Children of Niobe and Apollo Giving Midas Donkey Ears. Neoclassical stuccos and wall decorations include episodes from the Iliade after drawings and plaster models by Antonio Canova: Briseis Taken from Achilles, Achilles Bringing the Body of Patroclus, Aurora and the Sun Dispelling the Stars, and The Judgment of Paris. The frieze continues with trophies, tripods, the sarcophagus with owls of Pallas, and Apollo's harp; medallions with Homeric epic figures are tied with festoons and ribbons.

The Old Testament Room shows the Crossing of the Red Sea, The Judgment of Solomon, and Belshazzar's Feast in its frieze. The adjacent Ancient Rome Room presents The Rape of the Sabines, The Death of Sophonisba, The Continence of Scipio, and Coriolanus Stopped by His Mother. The Antechamber of the Four Elements depicts Air, Water, Earth, and Fire in its overdoor stuccos.

The Room of European Civilization features Europe on a globe above the fireplace, with America paying homage; the decorated beams display European Virtues: Concord, Eloquence, Prudence, and Wisdom. Overdoor cartouches show The Four Continents: America with arrow and quiver, Africa with proboscis, and Asia paying homage to crowned Europe. Wall scenes include Alexander the Great Before the Corpse of Darius, The Victor Cutting the Gordian Knot and Conquering Asia, Caesar Victorious Before the African Campaign, and Christopher Columbus Discovering America. Frieze frescoes celebrate triumphant European civilization: Greek science and art including Euclid, Pythagoras, Ptolemy, and the Graces.

The Gallery of Truth contains exuberant stuccos with the Muses in the lower band: eight on the long sides, with Calliope in the western overdoor accompanied by Mercury, Pegasus, and Bacchus. The central pavilion ceiling fresco by Giuseppe Alberti shows Time, Truth, and Justice Claiming Truth; surrounding it are six Labors of Hercules.

The Palazzo Leoni Montanari is located at Contra' San Corona 25 in central Vicenza. It is owned by Intesa Sanpaolo and operates as part of the Gallerie d'Italia network, with official websites at www.palazzomontanari.com and www.gallerieditalia.com/it/homepage/vicenza. The palace serves as exhibition space, meeting venue, and museum. Adjacent buildings house a Russian library and a restoration laboratory.