A Photo Tour of Amsterdam
Buildings, Houses, Canals, and Street Scenes
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054 – Houses – 170-172 Herengracht – "Het Huis Bartolotti" – AD1617 –
Built in 1617 for Guillelmo Bartolotti (whose Dutch name was Willem van den Heuvel) who, in his days, was one of the richest men in town.  To let everyone know how rich he was and how he had acquired all that wealth, he had two "cartouches" installed - one on each side of the middle facade.  The one on the left reads " Ingenio et Assiduo Labore" (Cleverness and Assiduous Labor) while the right one reads " Religione et Probitate" (Religiosity and Probity).  In 1689 the house was split into two, separate houses with the main house on the left being ±2ft wider than the secondary one on the right.  Another interesting architectural anomaly is the fact that the structure is ever so slightly bent to compensate for a bend in the Herengracht.  The interior of the main house is extremely interesting.  The, rather small, living room has a marble fire place, a fantastic ceiling painting signed and dated by Jacob de Wit, and painted wallpaper by Isaac de Moucheron.  Like the drawingroom of the house next door -168 Herengracht - upon entering them you get the feeling that you are walking right into, and become a part of, a painting!

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