Dating to the seventeenth century, the palazzo was built to celebrate the prestige of the dukes from the noble Neapolitan D’Aquino family. Emanuele was the sixth and last duke D’Aquino born in Casarano, after which the family returned to Naples. The palazzo is currently owned by the De Lorenzis family.
The imposing construction, also know as a “castle,” is Casarano’s largest building in terms of the breadth of its façade (120 metres). The frontage, designed by the architect Germano De Santis, is bipartite, with a long row of 52 figured brackets that were to hold up a balcony that was never built; in fact, the baronial palazzo is unfinished, as shown by the right-hand side of the building and the numerous broken or walled-up windows on the piano nobile. Here, windows open with a triangular tympanum, or with moulding.
The smooth façade contrasts with the rusticated decoration of the corner pilaster (the other was never built) and of the area around the portal.
Upon the property’s purchase by the De Lorenzis family in the late nineteenth century, renovation and decoration works were carried out, involving above all the building’s upper storeys. The salon is one of the most precious environments, for the decorations of the vault and for the beautiful floor mosaic.
After Unification in 1860, De Lorenzis, a follower of Garabaldi, had the great man’s endeavours depicted on the vault walls, thus bearing witness to his own political temperament. The brothers Peluso left their mark, producing a noteworthy floor mosaic with geometric motifs and animal figures. Inside, the small church dedicated to Saint Anne may be seen.