The Palace

Introduction

The Palace was first conceived as temporary venue: twice a year, according to the Gebardini Pacts signed on July 14^th 1111, the vicar of the Prince Bishop of Trento administered justice in its rooms.

The building probably dates back to the end of the XIII^thcentury. The first available documents do not state exactly where the building stood; in all likelihood they refer to the palace which stands next to the votive church of Saint Sebastian.

During the XIV^th century the Palace was turned into a summer residence for the Prince Bishop, after being used as a fixed venue for his representatives.

From the XV^th century onwards, transformation and decoration works were commissioned by several bishops. Udalrico III of Freundsberg (1486-1493) had the Palace extended to its actual size by joining together all the smaller buildings that had been erected in previous times. In the years 1537-1540 the plot underwent its utmost rearrangement works thanks to Bernardo Clesio (1514-1539) and Cristoforo Madruzzo (1539-1567).

High-level artists from Buonconsiglio Castle were employed in the renovation project: the bishop’s rooms were separated from the vicar’s, a spacious audience room was built on the second floor and new jails were made out of the cellars on the ground floor. The result was one of the most beautiful Renaissance residences in Trentino.

After the end of the episcopal principality, in the first years of the XIXth Century, the Palace was turned into a jail.

In 1850 Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme bought the building and over the years embarked on several restoration works. After the latest complete intervention, the Palace is used as museum and picture gallery and is at present the point of cultural reference for the Valley, thanks to its outstanding collection of paintings by artists of the Pictorial School of Fiemme and to the beautiful Renaissance frescos most likely painted by Marcello Fogolino.