Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano

The Palazzo stands on Via Toledo in the heart of Naples, described by Stendhal as the “busiest and most joyous street in the world.” It was commissioned by the wealthy Spanish merchant Giovanni Zevallos, with building work commencing in 1635. In around 1653 it became the home of Giovanni Vandeneynden, a Flemish merchant who amassed an extraordinary art collection there. The Colonna family, who through a series of dynastic vicissitudes became the Palazzo’s owners in 1688, brought in Luca Giordano to decorate some of the rooms on the piano nobile, now lost. After various changes of ownership, the family of banker Carlo Forquet commissioned the surviving frescoes and stuccowork in the 1930s. Purchased by Banca Commerciale Italiana, the Palazzo’s modern structure was designed by engineer Platania in 1920; he made Neoclassical and Art Nouveau-style additions, turning the original courtyard into the central Hall with its glass skylight.