Towards the end of the 18th century the Bandinis stated to live in the South side of the monastery, where the Cistercians used to have their kitchen and refectory. In 1859 Prince Sigismondo entrusted the architect Ireneo Alendri with the task of planning the renovation of the building. The three-storey palace has numerous decorated rooms. On the first floor there is the so-called “Salone Pompeiano”, a magnificent hall where the family used to listen to music (it is rumored that Wagner and Lizst played in there). From the hall you can enter an elegant enfilade, i.e. an interconnected group of rooms arranged in a row with each room opening into the next. Most of the rooms show grotesque decorations dating back to the end of the 19th century. The last heir of the family, Prince Sigismondo (1886-1918), particularly loved Fiastra Abbey estate and he carried out the renovation of the palace: he had the “Sala delle Tenute” and the grand staircase decorated in trompe l'oeil. The palace overlooks a the beautiful garden laid out in the English style between 1818 and 1835, where you can find holm oaks, various conifers, palm trees, and a magnificent cork oak. During World War II the Palace was used by the nazi-fascists as an internment camp for political opponents and Hebrews. Nowadays it houses the offices of the Giuntiniani-Bandini Foundation and Fiastra Abbey Nature Reserve.
