Built by the Baele family in the years 1612-13, it remained in their ownership until the extinction of the family: in 1727, half of the palace was bequeathed to the monks of St. Francis of Paola, while the other half passed to the Lucifero and Proto families. Around 1830, the D’Amico Rodriguez family acquired the entire building. The palace was the residence of the military governor of the city and hosted Louis Philippe d’Orleans, the future king of France.
Governor’s Palace
It was renovated in 1724, in 1787-88, in 1811 and after the earthquake of 1831, but the extent of the various works is unknown. The building stands between Via Impallomeni, which is at a higher elevation so that the elevation is sacrificed and corresponds to the piano nobile, and Via D’Amico where the façade has three orders of openings: on the ground floor there is a central doorway, a simple rusticated arch, between large windows of the service rooms (an off-centre service door leads directly into the coach house); on the first floor there are three large balconies, with baroque panelled railings, alternating with two small breasted balconies; on the attic floor a series of simple square windows conclude the facade without a crowning. The interior presents a peculiarity in the entrance, arranged to allow entry from both sides: the D’Amico coat of arms is painted in the vault. Stables and storerooms are distributed on either side of the atrium and occupy the entire ground floor. On the first floor, the central hall retains its floor made of large stone slabs with traces of red cladding; the vault is painted with a decorative fresco with floral motifs, with fantasy views within decorated frames.