House of the Marquise

Located on the second floor of the palace de Beaumont Bonelli in corso Vittorio Emanuele II n°39 (Historic centre of Taranto)  the noble house witnesses the artistic richness of Taranto's aristocracy in 17th and 18th century.



Even though it represents only a part of the ancient dwelling area that once upon a time included the whole floor,  it shows some artistic elements typical of its building period.
The entrance has got a wooden ceiling (6 metres high) not decorated (the ancient decorations were lost) and walls where you can see the emblem of the family de Beaumont-Bonelli.
The little studio, which connects the entrance with the first room (called green) has got a majolic floor and wall frescos.

On the right wall of the green room, there are the stairs allowing the access to the lofts (mezzanines) built during the restoring in 2002 where there are the bedrooms.

In the first room (called green for its prevailing colour) there are frescos on the halls and on the wooden ceiling which reproduce flower elements mostly green-coloured.

On the right wall of the room we can find a fresco realized by the artist Silvana Galeone in 2003, which represents the artistic continuity between the ancient fresco of 18th century and the new ones which date back from 2000.



The second room, called yellow, is the richest of all the house and shows frescos provided with red drapery on the walls and frescos on the ceiling.

The frescos represent images of the productive activities of Taranto in 18th century.
Besides, there are different women's faces embellished with many precious furnishings.
The floor shows green-blue ceramic tiles of Vietri which draw on the colours of the sea, visible from the two rooms.

Along the walls of the yellow room there are different frescos showing Latin inscriptions and many pictures and tapestries.
The kitchen of the noble house shows frescos reproducing natural images (trees, plants and country animals) on the roof and on the walls.

Particularly the chimney flue of the ancient furnace was painted and turned into a fig tree.
The little bathroom next to the kitchen has frescos either on the walls or on the ceiling mostly red (red colour, Taranto's purple).

The house has been restored by the Bellacicco's family, the current owner and it is available to the body of citizens for guided tours