Palazzo Trotti-Mosti (1493), Biblioteca di Giurisprudenza

Palazzo Trotti-Mosti (1493), Law Library

History
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Location

Auditorium, Palazzo Trotti-Mosti
Photo by Cristina Baldi, University Library System

In 1493, the De Mosto family publicly declared their prestige by purchasing the land on which Biagio Rossetti, or one of his helpers, was working on the construction of Palazzo Trotti-Mosti, in Via degli Angeli (present-day Corso Ercole I D'Este).

The palace underwent several changes of ownership over time, and these transformations are also documented by pictorial decorations from the 1500s, 1600s, 1800s and in Art Nouveau style. In 1830, Tancredi Mosti Trotti Estense began consolidation works, but the many expenses incurred during his political career forced the family to demolish the parts of the palace that couldn't be maintained, giving it itscurrent F shape. In 1915 the palace passed into the hands of the Pisa family along with its valuable collection of high-quality furnishings (antique dressers, inlaid wooden doors, impressive marble fireplaces), as described by those who visited the rooms in the 1930s.

In 1960 the property was divided up, with the old vegetable garden sacrificed and the garden reduced in size. The palace remained completely dilapidated until 1970, when theUniversity of Ferrara acquired it, designating it as the seat of the Law Department.

A significant decorative element is the renaissance front doorway, with marble medallions of remarkable quality depicting the heads of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus; it is said that it was transferred from another building owned by the family that was later demolished.

The palace houses the Law Library which is the location of the Ancient Legal Sciences Library Collection.

To find out more

Leonhart Fuchs, De historia stirpium commentarii insignes, Basel, Michael Isengrin, 1542 (Recreation of the illustration). Historical Collection of the Literature and Philosophy Library

This location is part of the permanent cultural tour Stories of books and palaces. Tours of the Unife libraries from the University Library System.(Tour guide.pdf)