Description of the attraction
Palazzo Hugens is an aristocratic residence in Livorno, located in the heart of the city quarter of Venice Nuova. At the end of the 17th century, part of the Fortezza Nuova fortress was demolished in order to make way for the construction of residential buildings in the thriving Venezia Nuova quarter. Via Borra became the main thoroughfare of the new quarter, and along it numerous private estates of wealthy Levornian families were erected. It was then that the construction of a huge palace for Antonio Hugens began in the vicinity of Palazzo delle Colonne di Marmo. The palazzo was completed by 1705, and a little later an upper floor was added to it. In 1706, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III Medici, stayed here, and in 1709, the Danish king Federico IV, who visited Maria Maddalena Trenta in Livorno. In the future, the palace changed owners several times and, having survived the difficult years of the Second World War, was restored in 1974-1978.
Palazzo Hugens is a four-story rectangular building. Behind, along the defensive moat of Fosso Reale, is the entrance to the warehouses, and the façade of the palace overlooks Via Borra. The façade is notable for a series of window openings with elegant cornices. The main entrance is crowned with a balcony. After passing through it, you can get into the courtyard, which overlooks the covered galleries, decorated with stucco.
