| Palace of Justice | |
|---|---|
 The Palace of Justice seen from the Umberto I Bridge | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| General information | |
| Location | Prati,Rome, Italy |
| Coordinates | 41°54′15″N12°28′13″E / 41.9041°N 12.4704°E /41.9041; 12.4704 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Guglielmo Calderini |
ThePalace of Justice (Italian:Palazzo di Giustizia), colloquially nicknamedil Palazzaccio ('the Awful Palace'), is the seat of theSupreme Court of Cassation and the Judicial Public Library of Italy. It is located in thePratidistrict ofRome, facingPiazza dei Tribunali,Via Triboniano,Piazza Cavour, andVia Ulpiano.
Designed by thePerugia architectGuglielmo Calderini and built between 1888 and 1910, the Palace of Justice is considered one of the grandest of the new buildings which followed the proclamation of Rome as the capital city of theKingdom of Italy.[1] The foundation stone was laid on 14 March 1888 in the presence ofGiuseppe Zanardelli, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Great Seal, who had insisted on a prestigious location in the Prati district, where various other new court buildings were already going up.[2]
The alluvial soil on which the building sits required a massive concrete platform to support the foundations.[3] Despite this, instability problems developed after the Palace was completed, and settlement led to a need for a painstaking restoration project which was begun in 1970.[1]
The excavations for the foundations unearthed several archaeological finds, including somesarcophagi. In one of these was found the skeleton of a young woman,Crepereia Tryphaena, together with a superbly crafted articulated ivory doll, now conserved in theCentrale Montemartini museum.[4]
On 11 January 1911, twenty-two years after construction began, the building was officially opened in the presence of the King of Italy,Victor Emmanuel III.
The building's unusually large size, astonishing decorations, and long period of construction created the suspicion of corruption.[5] In April 1912 a parliamentary commission was appointed to inquire into the matter and it presented its findings the following year.[6] The affair gave rise to the building's popular andpejorative nickname ofPalazzaccio.[3]
Inspired by lateRenaissance andBaroque architecture, the building is 170 meters by 155 in size and is completely covered withTravertinelimestone.[1] Above the façade looking towards theRiver Tiber it is surmounted by a great bronzequadriga, set there in 1926, the work of the sculptorEttore Ximenes from Palermo.[2] Ten large statues of notable jurists adorn the ramps before the main façade and the internal courtyard. The upper part of the façade looking onto the Piazza Cavour is ornamented with a bronzecoat of arms of theHouse of Savoy. Inside the Hall of the Supreme Court, also known as the Great Hall (or on Calderini's plans as theAula Maxima) are severalfrescoes, begun byCesare Maccari (1840–1919), who became paralysed in 1909 while the work was unfinished. It was continued until 1918 by Maccari's former student Paride Pascucci (1866–1954).[2]
Media related toPalazzo di Giustizia (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Palazzo Malta | Landmarks of Rome Palace of Justice, Rome | Succeeded by Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne |