Palazzo Bocchi

Palazzo Bocchi is distinguished by its high, rusticated stone base that runs along the exterior of the building on Via Goito. This Renaissance palace was commissioned in fifteen forty-five by Achille Bocchi, a prominent scholar and patron of the arts who sought a permanent home for his Hermatena Academy. The name of this institution combined Hermes, the god of eloquence, with Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Architects Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Sebastiano Serlio designed the structure to reflect these classical ideals, and it served as both a residence for Bocchi and a center for his intellectual circle.