Description
Palazzo Guerrieri, once Massa - De Leo, is an 18th-century palace in Brindisi, on Via Congregazione. It's worth a stop for the portal with the coat of arms of the families who lived here and for the Roman and medieval remains found beneath its foundations.
The portal opens between two columns, beneath a balcony on decorated corbels. On the facade is the double coat of arms: on the left the dog of the De Leo family, with its paw raised over a band, on the right the lion of the Massa family, on three rocks, holding a letter y.
The arms were put up by Annibale De Leo, later Archbishop of Brindisi, who inherited the palace from his Massa aunts in 1790 and renovated its facade. In 1851 it was bought by Vito Guerrieri, and in 1872 it passed to the city.
Work in 2001 brought to light Roman and medieval remains under the northeast side; digs in the former school gym have found medieval walls, foundations from the early Imperial age and a kiln. The rooms on the ground floor host exhibitions and lectures.
The portal opens between two columns, beneath a balcony on decorated corbels. On the facade is the double coat of arms: on the left the dog of the De Leo family, with its paw raised over a band, on the right the lion of the Massa family, on three rocks, holding a letter y.
The arms were put up by Annibale De Leo, later Archbishop of Brindisi, who inherited the palace from his Massa aunts in 1790 and renovated its facade. In 1851 it was bought by Vito Guerrieri, and in 1872 it passed to the city.
Work in 2001 brought to light Roman and medieval remains under the northeast side; digs in the former school gym have found medieval walls, foundations from the early Imperial age and a kiln. The rooms on the ground floor host exhibitions and lectures.