Ricciardi Serguidi Period

26 THE RICCIARDI SERGUIDI

PERIOD

Transfer of ownership

With the passing of the decades and by virtue of a constant matrimonial policy (the Salviati married more and more often to ladies of the Roman aristocracy), the Salviatis’ relations with Florence weakened and instead, became more solidified in their ties with Rome, where the family owned the beautiful Palazzo alla Lungara, overlooking the Tiber.

Jacopo Salviati (1607-1672), the grandson of the Jacopo Salviati (1537-1586) who had renovated the Palazzo and invited Allori and his workshop to decorate the palace, was named the first Duke of Giuliano. The title was passed down to Gian Vincenzo Salviati (1693-1757). Gian’s eldest son, Averardo Salviati (1721-1783), died without a male heir, and thus the Salviati’s enormous real estate patrimony went to his younger brother, Cardinal Gregorio Antonio Maria Salviati (1722-1794), the last male heir of the Salviati family. The cardinal left his name and titles to Marcantonio IV Borghese, husband of his niece Anna Maria Salviati, and sold the Palazzo Portinari Salviati on 22 June, 1768, to the knight Niccolò Maria Ricciardi Serguidi, a family originally from San Gimignano in the province of Siena.

At the time of the sale, the palace already had the same frontal extension as it does today on Via del Corso, while the houses and shops located between Via dello Studio and the Portinari’s chiasso (a small alley), which had been closed for some time, remained the property of the Salviati family even after the sale. Finally, on 31 August 1782, according to a contract drawn up by a notary, Cavalier Serguidi purchased them, adding them to the property already acquired to create a single building.

During the Ricciardi Serguidi ownership, important restoration and extension works were carried out, although it is unknown when they were done. In addition, the palace was enriched with statues and paintings, as much of the palace’s content had been emptied during the Salviati ownership. It can be assumed that that work on the walls began as early as 6 May, 1779, as supported by a statement made by the masons who worked there, while the completion of the work can be dated to 1785, as shown by the marble plaque with a dedication to Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine, which can still be seen in the palace to the left of the courtyard of Cosimo I.

DEDICATORY PLAQUE TO PIETRO LEOPOLDO

A marble plaque dated 1785 with a dedication to Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Lorraine regarding the extension and decoration of the Palazzo, which was adorned with statues and paintings by Niccolò Maria Ricciardi Serguidi. The Palazzo was purchased on 22 June 1768 by Niccolò Maria Ricciardi, who had taken the surname Serguidi.

RICCIARDI COAT OF ARM

SERGUIDI COAT OF ARM

On the noble floor, the Grand Gallery was decorated with the great fresco of Olympus between the allegories of Day and Night. The major Olympian deities such as Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Hermes, and Dionysus are all presented on the ceiling. The initials “T.G. 1783” can be found along the frame on the left side, indicating that the large vault was completed by Tommaso Gherardini in 1783, commissioned by Niccolò Maria Ricciardi Serguidi.

Tommaso Gherardini

Tommaso Gherardini was born in Florence in 1715. According to historical sources, as a child he preferred drawing ‘picturesque whimsy’ to studying, so his parents placed him in the workshop of the elderly sculptor Giuseppe Piamontini and later allowed him to complete his training in the academies of Venice, Bologna and Florence. While still attending the academy, Gherardini began to collaborate with Vincenzo Meucci, a painter who was much appreciated in 18th-century Florence for his fresco decorations. Meucci instructed his pupil in the art of monochrome painting (i.e. in a single color), imitation of bas-reliefs and detailed cameos, a speciality in which the painter was later to become famous for, and introduced him to the Martelli family, a powerful Florentine family that the artist became linked to throughout his life. His apprenticeship with Meucci and the protection of the Martelli family soon earned Gherardini a place among the new generation of Florentine painters. The frescoes in Palazzo Portinari Salviati are among the last works executed by the master; in addition to the Olympus in the gallery, several other artworks on the noble floor are also attributed to Gheradini, including a fresco depicting Marco Curzio riding into the abyss to save Rome, and one depicting the four seasons. Gherardini died in Florence in 1797.