Palazzo de Leone
Cent. 16th
When the mighty Suevian Castle was built in the mid-1200s, in front of the city walls which enclosed the moat, a stone bridge and the central keep of the fort, a vast clearing was created, which became known as “della Croce”.Over time, especially after the mid-1400s in Aragonese times, some important buildings were built around this clearing. One of these was Palazzo de Leone, which still bears on the keystone of the entrance archway the coat of arms with a rampant lion of the noble founding family, the Giovanni de Leone. The palazzo was then inherited by the heir, the noble Angelo de Leone who was part of the court of the Duchess of Bari and Queen of Poland, Bona Sforza. After his death, his wife, Virginia d’Eustachio married a noble Neapolitan of Spanish origins, Francesco Valcarcel. On her death, Donna Virginia left the palazzo and her possessions to her husband and to the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament. Around the middle of the 18th century, the palazzo was purchased by the archpriest Felice Giuliani.
In the 18th century the palazzo counted 12 ground floor rooms used for warehouses, cellars, stables, oil cisterns and water cisterns and on the first floor a “noble” apartment with a reception room, “galleria” and chapel. At the back was a garden for the pleasure of the inhabitants. The Giuliani family’s heirs sold the palazzo in the mid-1800s to Michele Della Mura from Terlizzi, a writer and poet and mayor of Palo from 1844 to 1846 and from then on the building was called Palazzo Della Mura for a long time. The palazzo is noteworthy for its majestic flat façade embellished with windows and cornicing. The prospect has a different brick structure over the three floors, formed by ashlar in varying appearances. Round arches divided by a capital with curved motifs give a sense of lightness to the imposing building while the balconies give a touch of elegance. After recent restoration work, the rooms of the buildings are currently being used for the activities of the parish of Santa Maria la Porta.