A sixteenth-century palace in Sacile, built for the Ragazzoni family of Venetian merchants and shipowners, and frescoed by Francesco Montemezzano with scenes celebrating the family’s standing among European rulers.
At a glance
Palazzo Ragazzoni stands on Viale Pietro Zancanaro, close to Piazza del Popolo and bordered by the Livenza. It is described by local and institutional sources as the most important noble residence in Sacile and the building that best represents the town’s sixteenth-century grandeur.
Key facts
- Where: Viale Pietro Zancanaro 2, Sacile
- What: Palace
- When: Built around the 1570s on a fifteenth-century building
- GPS: 45.9551, 12.5039 · Open in Google Maps
History
The palace was built on a previous fifteenth-century structure around the 1570s at the wish of the Ragazzoni family, Venetian shipowners and merchants, particularly Giacomo Ragazzoni, who settled in Sacile to strengthen the family’s landed properties and commercial exchanges. In July 1574 Giacomo Ragazzoni hosted Henry III of Valois, King of France, son of Catherine de’ Medici, during the king’s journey towards the French crown. The palace also received Maria of Austria, daughter of Charles V and widow of Emperor Maximilian II, who expressed great appreciation for the hospitality. Later owners included the Venetian Flangini family, under whom the palace hosted Pope Pius VI in 1782 and Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797. Since 1936, by the will of the last Lacchin heirs, the building has belonged to the municipality of Sacile.
What you see
The photographs show a large yellow corner palace with a long facade along a paved street. The elevation on Viale Zancanaro features a three-light window and a four-light window with columned balustrades and seventeenth-century-style decoration. The facade facing the Livenza has a five-light window at the level of the main floor and bears the marks of shots from the IV Bersaglieri Battalion, which fought there on 6 and 7 November 1917 during the retreat to the Piave. The west facade carries a memorial plaque recording that action, surrounded by visible bullet holes. In the courtyard of honour remain twelve stucco statues attributed to the school of Alessandro Vittoria. Inside are frescoes painted around 1583 by Francesco Montemezzano, an artist of Veronese’s school, with six large scenes celebrating the glories of Giacomo and Placido Ragazzoni and contemporary sovereigns.
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 through the contact page. What arrives with a source goes into this page, with your name as the contributor.
Nearby
- Teatro Zancanaro, Sacile — a theatre close to the palace
Gallery
Sources
- Visit Sacile, Palazzo Ragazzoni: date of construction, Ragazzoni family history, later owners, architectural features and frescoes
- Art Bonus, Palazzo Ragazzoni: address, ownership by the Comune di Sacile, restoration of the chapel
- FAI, Alla scoperta di Palazzo Ragazzoni: Ragazzoni family origins, Giacomo Ragazzoni’s role, description of facades and interior spaces
- Pordenone with love, Palazzo Ragazzoni-Flangini-Biglia: building history, courtyard statues, Montemezzano frescoes dated around 1583
- The Alchemist’s Ways, Sacile and Palazzo Ragazzoni: Henry III’s visit in July 1574
- Stefano Vigolo, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject and the plaque on the west facade. Not a published source.
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