Cremona, Raimondi Palace-Scuola di Liuteria

The palace was built during the last decade of the 15th century by the architect Bernardino de Lera, probably following the suggestions of the client, Eliseo Raimondi, who was a renowned humanist. The façade in white and rose marble stands out from other buildings in the town, which were built mostly of terracotta, for its originality, and this makes of it, one of the most significant works of the Renaissance in Cremona.
The façade is divided by pairs of pilasters that break the horizontal rhythm of the two-toned marble covering. The decoration in ashlar is based on Tuscan and Emilian palaces of the same period, even though interpreted in a less accentuated manner. In the interior, the singular courtyard contains a perspective painting on the far wall by Giovanni Motta from 1780, which creates an illusion of greater space in pre-Romantic style. The palace now houses the Istituto Superiore di Filologia and Paleografia Musicale and the Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria.