We had the privilege of visiting Palazzo Mandelli, the Piacenza residence of Marie Louise, duchess of Parma.
The palace, now owned by the Banca d’Italia, usually is not open to public but for 2018 four visits were planned (in May, May and October).
Professor Alessandro Malinverni has been our experienced guide.

Eventual further visits will be reported in the local papers.

A bit of history:
Planned by Gian Andrea Boldrini and built between 1745 and 1755 on behalf of the Mandelli family.
From 1816 it was the official residence of Maria Luigia in Piacenza where she was the guest of the marquis and philanthropist Bernardino Mandelli.
In 1827 the Mandelli family died out.
In 1831 for a semester the palace was ducal seat.
During the first years if the Italian unification it was the seat of the prefecture and then in 1913 it became a property of the Banca d’Italia.

Two notes:

• The interior is now changed by the presence of the offices of the bank. A watercolor discovered by Prof. Malinverni seems to represent the music rooms of the duchess.
  The remarkable hall and staircase are both untouched.
• When the duchess moved, in addition to various furnishings, she took with her about 500 servants lodged at several Piacenza homes.

For more info:
piacenzamusei.it: visita al palazzo mandelli
turismo.provincia.piacenza.it: palazzo mandelli