Palazzo De Sanctis

On a steep slope, Palazzo De Sanctis is less a single, composed facade than a series of architectural adjustments to the land. It is an irregular block of three levels, one a semi-basement, that shifts from two storeys above ground on the uphill side to three downhill. The western flank reveals its substructure openly: a row of arches and piers that once supported vaulted chambers below.

The main portal, rusticated and assertive, sits at the upper end; downhill, a smaller doorway sports a carved keystone. Between them, two service entrances. Above, a rhythm of three windows per floor is broken on the second level by a cast-iron balcony with its decorative railing and corbels. On the north side, a trabeated door, a round-arched portal, and, at the northeast corner, a broad covered terrace visible from the east elevation.

The building is faced in rendered stone, its lower floors likely vaulted, the upper ones floored in timber and iron. The roof is pitched, clad in traditional clay tiles. A palazzo that reads as a crafted response to site and slope.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.