Description
The Quirinal Palace is the residence of the President of the Republic, on the hill of the same name, one of the highest points in Rome. With about 1,200 rooms and 110,500 square meters, it is one of the largest palaces in the world, and it housed first the popes and then the kings of Italy.
The facade, austere and two stories high, is by Domenico Fontana, with Maderno's portal and, above it, Bernini's Loggia of the Blessings. The square in front is dominated by the Dioscuri, the ancient equestrian statues, with an obelisk and a fountain: the group gave the hill its old name, Monte Cavallo.
The color of the facade, restored in 2002, is the original travertine, after the ocher period of the Savoys.
The Courtyard of Honor is the heart of the palace, with the state rooms around it.
Above the loggia is a small tower commissioned by Gregory XIII, with a clock from 1626 whose face is divided into six hours. Inside, the grand staircase by Flaminio Ponzio is dominated by Melozzo da Forlì's Christ Blessing, a fragment of fresco that came from the church of the Santi Apostoli.
The Salone dei Corazzieri, 37 meters long and 19 high, began as the papal throne room: it has a frieze frescoed in 1616 by Tassi, Lanfranco and Saraceni, and today it is where the Corazzieri guard unit is reviewed. The Salone delle Feste, white and gold, is the most sumptuous: this is where a new Government is sworn in.
The Pauline Chapel, 42 meters long, has the same proportions as the Sistine and hosted several conclaves. The Chapel of the Annunziata is a small elliptical space with frescoes by Guido Reni and his altarpiece of the Annunciation. The Hall of Mirrors, from the Savoy era, gleams with Murano chandeliers.
The gardens, four hectares in size, have gravel paths, a plane tree over 40 meters tall, Fuga's Coffee House and a hydraulic organ powered by a waterfall. Underneath, excavations have revealed the remains of the temple of the god Quirinus and of imperial buildings.
The palace began as a summer home. On the hill stood the villa of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, and Gregory XIII appreciated its air, healthier than the Vatican's. So construction started in 1583, and his successors did not want to leave again: Sixtus V, Paul V, all the way to Pius IX.
Between 1605 and 1870 the palace housed thirty popes. With the capture of Rome in 1870 everything changed: from 1871 to 1946 it was the royal palace of the Savoys, and since 1946 it has been the home of the presidents of the Republic. Pertini preferred his apartment near the Trevi Fountain.
The Quirinal is also a museum of architecture: Mascherino, Ponzio, Maderno and Bernini worked on it, the latter designing the "Long Sleeve," later finished by Fuga. Napoleon had wanted it for himself, but never set foot in it.
Don't miss
• The Salone dei Corazzieri.
• The grand staircase.
• The Pauline Chapel.
• The gardens.
Did you know?
• It has a surface area twenty times that of the White House.
• The gardens are older than those of Versailles.
• In 1770 the young Mozart was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Spur here.
The facade, austere and two stories high, is by Domenico Fontana, with Maderno's portal and, above it, Bernini's Loggia of the Blessings. The square in front is dominated by the Dioscuri, the ancient equestrian statues, with an obelisk and a fountain: the group gave the hill its old name, Monte Cavallo.
The color of the facade, restored in 2002, is the original travertine, after the ocher period of the Savoys.
The Courtyard of Honor is the heart of the palace, with the state rooms around it.
Above the loggia is a small tower commissioned by Gregory XIII, with a clock from 1626 whose face is divided into six hours. Inside, the grand staircase by Flaminio Ponzio is dominated by Melozzo da Forlì's Christ Blessing, a fragment of fresco that came from the church of the Santi Apostoli.
The Salone dei Corazzieri, 37 meters long and 19 high, began as the papal throne room: it has a frieze frescoed in 1616 by Tassi, Lanfranco and Saraceni, and today it is where the Corazzieri guard unit is reviewed. The Salone delle Feste, white and gold, is the most sumptuous: this is where a new Government is sworn in.
The Pauline Chapel, 42 meters long, has the same proportions as the Sistine and hosted several conclaves. The Chapel of the Annunziata is a small elliptical space with frescoes by Guido Reni and his altarpiece of the Annunciation. The Hall of Mirrors, from the Savoy era, gleams with Murano chandeliers.
The gardens, four hectares in size, have gravel paths, a plane tree over 40 meters tall, Fuga's Coffee House and a hydraulic organ powered by a waterfall. Underneath, excavations have revealed the remains of the temple of the god Quirinus and of imperial buildings.
The palace began as a summer home. On the hill stood the villa of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, and Gregory XIII appreciated its air, healthier than the Vatican's. So construction started in 1583, and his successors did not want to leave again: Sixtus V, Paul V, all the way to Pius IX.
Between 1605 and 1870 the palace housed thirty popes. With the capture of Rome in 1870 everything changed: from 1871 to 1946 it was the royal palace of the Savoys, and since 1946 it has been the home of the presidents of the Republic. Pertini preferred his apartment near the Trevi Fountain.
The Quirinal is also a museum of architecture: Mascherino, Ponzio, Maderno and Bernini worked on it, the latter designing the "Long Sleeve," later finished by Fuga. Napoleon had wanted it for himself, but never set foot in it.
Don't miss
• The Salone dei Corazzieri.
• The grand staircase.
• The Pauline Chapel.
• The gardens.
Did you know?
• It has a surface area twenty times that of the White House.
• The gardens are older than those of Versailles.
• In 1770 the young Mozart was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Spur here.