Quirinale Palace

Piazza del Quirinale. (Open Map)
(75)

Description

In 1578 Pope Gregory XII Boncompagni charged the architect Martino Longhi first, and Ottaviano Mascherino afterward, with constructing a summer villa on top of the Quirinale hill which would incorporate the existing villa belonging to the Carafa and the Estensi families. 

During the papacy of Sixtus V Peretti (1585-90), the project was taken up by Domenico Fontana, while under Paul V Borghese (1605-21) the works were commissioned to Flaminio Ponzio and, after his death, to Carlo Maderno. 

More works were carried out by Gianlorenzo Bernini during the papacy of Urban VIII Barberini (1623-44), who was mostly concerned with strenghthening the defensive structures of the building. 

The palace was enlarged along the Strada Pia (now Via XX Settembre) with the construction of the so called "Manica lunga", a wing finished under Clemens XII Corsini (1730-40) by Ferdinando Fuga, who completed the external building of the complex. After 1870 the building was chosen as the palace of the Savoy family. 

Today it houses the residence and private offices of the President of the Italian Republic. The austere two-storey facade by Domenico Fontana (1589) is enriched by the portal by Maderno (1615) with the tympanum flanked by statues of the apostles Peter and Paul, by Stefano Maderno and Berthélot respectively. 

Above it is the Loggia delle Benedizioni designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1638). On the left is the "torrino" (1624) by Bernini. In the magnificent gardens are the Fontana dell'Organo (1596) and the Coffee House by Fuga (1741) with interesting paintings by Pannini. 

The internal decoration of the palace is a sum of the Roman art of the 17th and 18th centuries here represented at the highest levels with works by Guido Reni, Pietro da Cortona, Giovanni Lanfranco, Agostino Tassi, Antonio Caracci and others.


Itinerary N.1 (artistic-institutional)

Piano Nobile (Bel Étage): Staircase of Honour, Antechamber to the Grand Ballroom, the Gallery of Busts, the Four Seasons Room, the Great Hall of the Cuirassiers, view of the Pauline Chapel, the First State Room, the Room of the Virtues, the Room of the Flood, the Room of the Loggias, the Room of the Bussolanti, the Balcony Room, St John Parlour, the Yellow Room, the Augustus Hall, the Hall of Ambassadors, the Hercules Room, the Hall of the Cabinets, the Passaggetto of Urban VIII, the Room of Drusus the Elder, the private office of the President, the Lille Tapestry Room, the Napoleonic Parlour, view of the Piffetti Library, Bronzino’s Room, Loggia of Honour, the Room of the Bees, the Hall of Ladies, the Hall of Victory, the Hall of Peace, the Hall of Music, the Hall of the Zodiac, the Hall of Paul V's Building Projects, the Hall of Tapestries, the Hall of Mirrors, the Grand Ballroom.

Ground Floor: Exhibition on the Palace’s history, when it was the residence of Popes, of the Savoy Dynasty and of the Presidents of the Italian Republic; the Hall of Popes; the King’s Office; the room adjacent to the King’s Office, with an exhibition on the House of Savoy and on the Albertine Statute (Statuto Albertino); the room dedicated to the Presidents of the Republic, with, on display, the Italian Constitution and historical documents, photographs and the showing of short films; the Sala del Mappamondo, the geographical globe room, displaying historical and institutional objects and documents.



Itinerary N. 2 (artistic-institutional and thematic)

Piano Nobile (Bel Étage): Staircase of Honour, Antechamber to the Grand Ballroom, the Gallery of Busts, the Four Seasons Room, the Great Hall of the Cuirassiers, view of the Pauline Chapel, the First State Room, the Room of the Virtues, the Room of the Flood, the Room of the Loggias, the Room of the Bussolanti, the Balcony Room, St John Parlour, the Yellow Room, the Augustus Hall, the Hall of Ambassadors, the Hercules Room, the Hall of the Cabinets, the Passaggetto of Urban VIII, the Room of Drusus the Elder, the private office of the President, the Lille Tapestry Room, the Napoleonic Parlour, view of the Piffetti Library, Bronzino’s Room, Loggia of Honour, the Room of the Bees, the Hall of Ladies, the Hall of Victory, the Hall of Peace, the Hall of Music, the Hall of the Zodiac, the Hall of Paul V's Building Projects, the Hall of Tapestries, the Hall of Mirrors, the Grand Ballroom.

Vasella: Exhibition of tableware, porcelain, candelabra, kitchen utensils, dinner sets by Richard Ginori, Meissen china, Sèvres dinner sets and oriental china belonging to the House of Savoy.

Gardens: Walk through the Gardens, across the Boschetto (thicket) with the Rustic Fountain, the Torretta compound built by Ippolito d’Este and the Antiquarium, the Bathers fountain and the Coffee House.

Carriages and Harnesses: Tour of the Carriage Museum, which displays the four gala horse-drawn carriages dating back to 1789, 1817 and 1819, and the Gallery of Gala Carriages used up to 1939; of the exhibition in the Historical Privy Council of harnesses donated by several kings of the Savoy Dynasty, the historic memorabilia of the House of Savoy and several decorations from the carriage that belonged to Napoleon, King of Italy; tour of the Gallery of Harness Fittings of the Savoy Dynasty.
(To access the Carriage exhibition, visitors must climb up and back down approximately 80 steps on an external staircase).

Ground Floor: Exhibition on the Palace’s history, when it was the residence of Popes, of the Savoy Dynasty and of the Presidents of the Italian Republic; the Hall of Popes; the King’s Office; the room adjacent to the King’s Office, with an exhibition on the House of Savoy and on the Albertine Statute (Statuto Albertino); the room dedicated to the Presidents of the Republic, with, on display, the Italian Constitution and historical documents, photographs and the showing of short films; the Sala del Mappamondo, the geographical globe room, displaying historical and institutional objects and documents.