At the end of the 16th century, a Greek merchant Konstanty Korniakt bought two houses located on the place of the modern building. He was the richest citizen in Lviv and for several years served as a Chief Customs Officer of the East Slavic lands in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
According to his request, Italian architects Pietro Barbone and Paolo Dominici Romanus rebuilt the houses and turned them into a magnificent palace. While preferred guests were visiting him, Korniakt used to treat guests with the best Mediterranean wines from his own cellars. After his death, his descendants sold the house and it eventually became a property of Jakub Sobieski, the father of the future Polish king, Jan III. Since then, the palace has received its second name - "Royal".
In 1634, for a short period of time another Polish king, Ladislaus IV Vasa, lived here. Since 1908 and up to now, there is a museum in the palace.
Author Ihor Lylo
Translated by A. Kushch
The Italian courtyard
The Korniakt Palace has its inner courtyard, known in Lviv as "the Italian courtyard".It was created in the time of King Jan III Sobieski, after two palace buildings were combined. For some time the famous Italian-origin wife of the king - Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien, better known as Marysieńka, lived there. The cosy inner courtyard surrounded by three-floor open galleries gives a sense of open space and at the same time has great acoustics. Nowadays, it is one of the best places for musical concerts and performances.
