Palazzo Ricchioni
Palazzo Ricchioni stands on a road which today is busy with cars and passers-by, testament to a time when Palo del Colle began to grown beyond its ancient walls. In the 19th century roads became wider, and modern ideas abounded. In 1867, in that climate of transformation, the architect Luigi Castellucci designed this elegant palazzo. The building is neoclassical in style and in spirit, rejecting the frills of the past and embracing instead order and proportion. The symmetrical façade with its sober gables and columns evokes Greek and Roman antiquity in its discrete beauty. The real soul of the building however is not purely architectural, it is made up of family, history and politics. The name Ricchioni is rooted in centuries of history. Originally from Auricarro, the family fled to Palo in the 15th century when the wars between Queen Joanna of Anjou and the King of Hungary began to threaten the area.
From then on, the family was involved in town life as mayors, priests and important citizens. Don Francesco Ricchioni was involved with the “Carbonari” and fought for a free and united Italy. Vincenzo Ricchioni was born in 1891 and was a professor, rector, member of parliament and above all, a man of the South. He defended the peasants, denounced the unproductive estates, wrote about land reclamation and reforms with his eye constantly on a fairer and more modern agriculture. In his essays and speeches, he spoke of the land not just as something to be cultivated but a promise to keep. Today Palazzo Ricchioni is not just a historical building, it is a silent symbol in the midst of hectic daily life which tells a story of civil courage and renewal and of a time when beauty was order and politics was passion.