Palazzo Pretorio

Palazzo Pretorio, also known as Palazzo Vescovile (Episcopal Palace), is a palace in Romanesque style in Trento, located in Piazza del Duomo, adjacent to the Cathedral of San Vigilio. Palazzo Pretorio is the current seat of the Tridentine Diocesan Museum (Museo Diocesano Tridentino).

SHORT HISTORY

Between the 9th and 13th centuries, Palazzo Pretorio was the residence of the Tridentine bishops. In 1071, it was mentioned for the first time as the Episcopal Palace.

The palace took the name of Palazzo Pretorio during the 11th century, when the Court of Justice and the Praetor established their headquarters in the building.

The bishop’s residence was transferred in 1255 to the Buonconsiglio Castle by the bishop Egnone of Appiano, causing the progressive abandonment of the ancient palace.

In 1533, the charitable institution Monte di Pietà was located here, at the behest of Cristoforo Madruzzo, prince-bishop of Trento. At the same time, the palace hosted the consuls of the city and the College of Doctors.

The palace was restored in 1676 on the initiative of Sigismondo Alfonso Thun. The works radically changed the original Romanesque facade of the building.

In the 1950s, the facade of the palace was restored again in Romanesque style.

ARCHITECTURE

The facade of the palace, decorated with Ghibelline battlements, features two rows of three mullioned windows on the first floor, and mullioned windows on the second floor.

THE MUSEUM

The Tridentine Diocesan Museum was founded in 1903 in order to protect the artistic heritage of the diocese of Trento. Only in 1963, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the Council of Trent, Palazzo Pretorio became the permanent seat of the museum.

In the 1990s, a radical restoration of the building was carried out and the collections were rearranged according to modern museographic criteria. In 1995, Pope John Paul II officially inaugurated the renovated museum.

HOW TO GET THERE

Palazzo Pretorio is located about 600 meters away from the Trento railway station. The closest bus stop, Rosmini Santa Maria Maggiore, is located about 260 meters away, on the bus Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5/, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 14.