Alghero, Peretti Palace

The building overlooks the road that was the main access to the city from the hinterland, today a pedestrian area, important for its commercial activities.
The building was built in Gothic-Catalan forms towards the end of the 15th century, for the noble Guyò i Duran family. In the second half of the 18th century, it was bought by the Peretti, a family originally from Corsica, who still owns it. The noble Peretti family had distinguished itself at home for having been one of the most ardent supporters of the independence of Corsica, but after the failure of the island's liberation struggles, it was forced to leave its homeland and move into exile in Alghero. The building is one of the most impressive in the city due to its considerable size and its U-shaped plan, which allows it to overlook three streets: Via Roma, Via Barcelloneta and Vicolo Adami, to which it is directly connected by a barrel-vaulted porch, with an underground and square sandstone ashlars. Even the main façade, which overlooks Via Roma, is made of square-shaped sandstone ashlars, while the rest of the building is completely plastered. The main prospectus is the most interesting of the three. The lower floor, which now houses a commercial activity, is framed by three double-girded arches, with a lowered sixth, resting on polygonal pillars with phytomorphic capitals, unfortunately in a very poor state of conservation; above the wooden portal, the heraldic coat of arms of the Peretti family heads the heraldic coat of arms. Above the ring arches, the windows of the terrace and the windows and balconies of the second and third floors open; however, all the openings are the result of a series of renovations from different times, the last of which, in 1953, raised the building by one floor. Of the original appearance of the façade, in addition to the already mentioned arches of the lower floor, the remains of three double-ring mullioned windows set up on columns, which were obliterated to make way for the current rectangular openings. For the rest, the façade is smooth and has no significant decorative elements, except for a small rosette that is still visible, which surmounted one of the double ring windows. All three elevations of the building are crowned by a jutting notched ledge.

History of studies
The building is mentioned in the main works on Alghero architecture.

Bibliography
A. Ingegno, The historic center of Alghero: notes for research, Oristano, 1996;
L. Deriu, Alghero: the ancient city, Sassari 2000.

How to get there
Starting from the port, you walk along the walls to Piazza Porta Terra. Then turn north into the wide Via Roma. The building is located on the s., on the corner with Via Barcelloneta.