A painted sixteenth-century house beside Piazza Duomo in Trento, known for its moral and mythological frescoes arranged across several storeys.
At a glance
Two adjoining painted houses at Piazza Duomo 7 look onto the cathedral square of Trento. The facade, raised on a portico with lowered arches, carries a cycle of sixteenth-century frescoes that the documents describe as a “book on morals” opened to the square.
Key facts
- Where: Piazza Duomo, 7, 38122 Trento TN
- What: Building
- When: 1530 circa
- GPS: 46.0677, 11.1217 · Open in Google Maps
History
The ancient house of the noble Cazuffi family faces Piazza del Duomo and borders the church of the Annunciation. Together with the adjacent building it was made to accommodate in the best possible way the guests of the Council of Trent, and is considered the most important painted house of Renaissance Trento. The property of the Rella family is documented only from the nineteenth century. Around 1530 Casa Rella underwent extensive renovation work, with the opening of single-light windows and the execution of the frescoes. The author of those paintings is not known; the documents say it was certainly not the master Fogolino, who worked on the facade of Casa Cazuffi.
What you see
In the photograph, the building stands on a polygonal plan supported by the massive pillars of the portico. On the left side of the facade are characters and scenes from classical mythology: at the top, Geryon and the allegories of Fortune, Occasion and Nemesis; below, Damocles at the table of the tyrant Dionysius. On the right side are painted themes that include moral and allegorical figures, among them the Triumphs of Love and the god Apollo. Latin scrolls explain the cycle, which culminates in the Scale of Virtues. Above the portico, green awnings shade outdoor café tables on the paved street. The small signs on the columns and shopfronts are hard to read in the photograph; the exact identity of the individual fresco scenes is not legible.
Do you know more about this place?
If you know a date, a name, a document, a plaque or a photograph that tells its story, write to Sofia at sofia@culturalheritageonline.com or through the contact page. What arrives with a source goes into this page, with your name as the contributor.
Nearby
- Fontana del Nettuno, Trento — the baroque fountain in the centre of the same square, about 30 metres away
- Mart – Civic Gallery of Trento — civic gallery a short walk from the square
Sources
- Visit Trentino, Case Cazuffi – Rella – Guide – Sightseeing: description of the two houses, the sixteenth-century painting cycle, and its subjects
- Visit Trento, Cazuffi House – Rella – TRENTO: address, the noble Cazuffi family, the porch with lowered arches, and the role as a painted house for the guests of the Council of Trent
- SpaziComuni, Comune di Trento, SpaziComuni: the same details in Italian, confirming the Piazza Duomo address and the painted cycle
- Trentino Cultura, Casa Rella – Trentino Cultura: date of frescoes around 1530, the Rella family property documented in the nineteenth century, the unknown author, and the allegories
- Stefano Vigolo, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject and its location. Not a published source
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Become a Cultural Heritage Online photographer
Share your photos of places: they stay published under your name as the author. The more they're seen, the more you get noticed — and soon a contest will reward the most appreciated photos.
Log in or sign up free to add a photoIs this page about you?
This page is read by travellers and heritage enthusiasts who find it on Google. Tell us how you are connected to this place and we will take it from there.