Palazzo Rosmini «al Frassem», also known as Palazzo Balista, is an eighteenth-century building on corso Rosmini, in Rovereto. It was built between 1733 and 1737 for Nicolò Francesco Rosmini, of a branch of the important Rovereto family, by the architects of Lombard origin Carlo and Bernardo Tacchi. It passed from the Rosmini to the Balista, then to the town council and finally to the Cassa Rurale di Rovereto.
What to see
The front on corso Rosmini has a Baroque portal supporting the balcony of the main floor; in the centre of the arch, over the door, the old house number 100 is still there. An inscription records that the historian Giovanni Carlo Giulio Rosmini was born here. In front is a small space with a few palms.
At the back, towards the north, two large wings flank the main block and enclose an inner courtyard, closed by high walls and a gate.
Visiting
The palace was for a long time the seat of the Accademia di Musica Antica di Rovereto; after years of closure and a renovation, at the end of 2022 it was reopened to the public. Opening times and access should be checked.
Our editors' tip
«Al Frassem» is the old name of the area: when there were still few buildings north of today's corso, this was the name of the stretch between the San Marco gate and the Santa Caterina district, on the way to the river port of Borgo Sacco. And it seems likely that in the later eighteenth century the palace hosted Giuseppe Balsamo, Count Cagliostro, during a stay in Rovereto.
