Turchi – Di Bagno Palace (Palazzo Turchi – Di Bagno)

Palazzo Turchi is located – together with Palazzo dei Diamanti, Palazzo Prosperi-Sacrati and, formerly, Palazzo Bevilacqua (now the “Quartierone”) – on the so-called Quadrivio degli Angeli, focal point of the Addizione Erculea, where the main road axes intersect: Via degli Angeli (now Corso Ercole I), which pre-existed the Addizione itself, and Via dei Prioni (now Corso Biagio Rossetti), created by Ercole I d’Este. The three buildings on the Quadrivio are (together with the Palazzo di Don Giulio) the most sumptuous of the Addizione (especially the Palazzo dei Diamanti), demonstrating the importance of this road junction. The building was constructed starting from 1498 on the site where Ercole I himself had previously built modest houses: in 1497, there were eight single-storey residences. Evidently, Ercole had not foreseen from the outset the focal role he would later decide to attribute to this site. The works were carried out by the bricklayer Battista di Rinaldo. In December 1498, the palace had already been sold to Teregrino Turchi and documents mention it, in 1499 and 1500, among the already completed buildings of the Addizione Erculea. It currently houses the University of Ferrara paleontological and prehistory museum, lecture theatres and offices.