Rydzyna Castle - Italian Heritage

Italian Heritage

The residence was built by Giuseppe Simon Belotti from Lugano, at the and of 17th century. Not only was he an architect but also a manager of stucco workshops and a supervisor of decorative works made by Italian plasterers and sculptors. Belotti designed the Leszczyńskis’ Palace in ‘palazzo in modo fortezza’ style, following the example of Poggio Reale by Sebastiano Serlio (Serliano). Another Italian artist who settled in Poland, Michelangelo Palloni from Florence, decorated ceilings in the palace in Rydzyna with splendid frescos. At the beginning of the 18th century Pompeo Ferrari came to Rydzyna. He was a talented architect from Rome, laureate of the St. Lucas Academy. He settled here for the rest of his life and after his death in 1736 was buried in the parish church. Pompeo Ferrari designed the Rydzyna palace reconstruction which was the beginning of the famous urban planning of Rydzyna, whose aim was to join the palace and the town in a harmonious composition. Apart from that he was a designer of other magnificent buildings in Wielkopolska (Great Poland). Other artists under the artistic patronage of the Leszczyński family were three brothers Catenazzi from Morbio Inferiore in Mendrisiotto, (in Ticino, Switzerland). The splendid heritage of the past has been carefully protected in Rydzyna, where people always remember creators of beauty.