Palazzo Grataroli (House of Arlecchino)

From the strategic position in which it is located (directly overlooking Via Mercatorum) and from its external structure, the building had to be fortified.
Inside the hall, a vertical crack is visible on the right wall which testifies to the existence of a watchtower that looked directly onto Via Mercatorum.The origins of the noble palace, on the other hand, date back to the fifteenth century when it was renovated and enlarged to be completed in the seventeenth century with the addition of the kitchen.The noble Grataroli family owned the palace: a powerful local family whose members boasted wealth and fortunes acquired in Venice.
The Grataroli family brought Venetian architectural taste to their palace and these characteristics have made the palace the only example of Venetian architecture in the Brembana Valley.

On the Grataroli palace, at the entrance to the Museum, there is the fresco of Homo Selvadego, whose image was represented outside (or inside) the houses for intimidation purposes.
The upper writing warns: "Chi no é de chortesia, do not intrigue in my house. Se ghe venes un poltron, what I will give of my cane".
Since the palace is along the busy Via Mercatorum, it was advisable to dissuade travelers from annoying or annoying the inhabitants of the palace.

The Grataroli were the owners of the building known as "Casa di Arlecchino", which they had decorated with valuable frescoes, still visible today when entering the "camera picta", which testify to the rise of the family through the intercession of the thaumaturgic saints linked to popular devotion .