| Palazzo Farnese | |
|---|---|
 Palazzo Farnese in Rome | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Coordinates | 41°53′41″N12°28′15″E / 41.89472°N 12.47083°E /41.89472; 12.47083 |
| Client | Pope Paul III |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Michelangelo Vignola |
Palazzo Farnese ([paˈlattsofarˈneːze,-eːse]) orFarnese Palace is one of the most importantHigh Renaissancepalaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy.
First designed in 1517 for theFarnese family, the building expanded in size and conception when Alessandro Farnese becamePope Paul III in 1534, to designs byAntonio da Sangallo the Younger. Its building history involved some of the most prominent Italian architects of the 16th century, includingMichelangelo,Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola andGiacomo della Porta.
At the end of the 16th century, the important fresco cycle ofThe Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery was carried out by the Bolognese painterAnnibale Carracci, marking the beginning of two divergent trends in painting during the 17th century, the Roman HighBaroque andClassicism. The famous Farnese sculpture collection, now in theNational Archeological Museum of Naples, as well as other Farnese collections, now mostly inCapodimonte Museum inNaples, were accommodated in the palace.
"The most imposing Italian palace of the 16th century", according to Sir Banister Fletcher,[1] thispalazzo was designed byAntonio da Sangallo the Younger, one ofBramante's assistants in the design ofSt. Peter's and an important Renaissance architect in his own right. Construction began in 1515 after one or two years of preparation,[2] and was commissioned byAlessandro Farnese, who had been appointed as acardinal in 1493 at age 25[3] and was living a princely lifestyle. Work was interrupted by theSack of Rome in 1527.
When, in January 1534 Alessandro became PopePaul III, the size of the palace was increased significantly and he employedMichelangelo who completed the redesigned third story with its deep cornice and revised the courtyard as well. The post-1534 developments were not only a reflection of Alessandro's change in status but employed architecture to express the power of the Farnese family, much as at theirVilla Farnese at Caprarola. The massive palace block and its facade dominate thePiazza Farnese.
Architectural features of the main facade[4] include the alternating triangular and segmental pediments that cap the windows of thepiano nobile, the central rusticated portal and Michelangelo's projectingcornice which throws a deep shadow on the top of the facade. Michelangelo revised the central window in 1541, adding an architrave to give a central focus to the facade, above which is the largest papalstemma, or coat-of-arms with papal tiara, Rome had ever seen. When Paul appeared on the balcony, the entire facade became a setting for his person.[5] The courtyard, initially open arcades, is ringed by an academic exercise in ascending orders (Doric,Ionic andCorinthian). Thepiano nobile entablature was given a frieze with garlands, added by Michelangelo.
On the garden side of the palace, which faced theRiver Tiber, Michelangelo proposed the innovatory design of a bridge which, if completed, would have linked the palace with the gardens of the Vigna Farnese, Alessandro's holding on the opposite bank, that later became incorporated into the adjacent villa belonging to theChigi family, which the Farnese purchased in 1584 and renamed theVilla Farnesina.[6] While the practicalities of achieving this bridge remain dubious, the idea was a bold and expansive one.
During the 16th century, two large granite basins from theBaths of Caracalla were adapted as fountains in the Piazza Farnese, the "urban" face of the palace.
The palazzo was further modified for thepapal nephew Ranuccio Farnese byJacopo Barozzi da Vignola. It was completed for the second Cardinal Alessandro Farnese byGiacomo della Porta's porticoed facade towards theTiber which was finished in 1589.
Following the death of CardinalOdoardo Farnese in 1626, the palazzo stood virtually uninhabited for twenty years. At the conclusion of theWar of Castro with the papacy,Duke Odoardo was able to regain his family properties, which had been sequestered. The resulting inventory is the oldest surviving complete inventory of Palazzo Farnese.
After Odoardo's death,Pope Alexander VII allowed QueenChristina of Sweden to lodge in the palace for several months, but she "proved a tenant from hell".[7] After her departure for Paris, the papal authorities discovered that her unruly servants not only had stolen the silver, tapestries, and paintings, but also had "smashed up doors for firewood" and removed sections of copper roofing.[8]
Several main rooms werefrescoed with elaborateallegorical programs including theHercules cycle in theSala d'Ercole or the Hercules Room, the "Sala del Mappamondo" or The Room of Maps, and the well knownThe Loves of the Gods (1597–1608) in the Farnese Gallery, both by the Bolognese painterAnnibale Carracci. Other rooms have frescoes byDaniele da Volterra and by other artists.
For generations, the room with Herculean frescoes accommodated the famous Greco-Roman antique sculpture known as theFarnese Hercules. Other works from thefamily collection of classical sculpture were also housed in the palace.
One of the vault and ceiling frescoes by Annibale Carracci isGalleria Farnese, an art gallery. According to Ann Sutherland Harris, "The Galleria frescoes make even more extensive use of ancient sculptural and architectural sources, and in addition take their basic structure from two ceilings by the most prestigious artists of the High Renaissance in Rome, the Loggia of Psyche by Raphael and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling". Carracci adopted thequadri riportati, which the ceiling is divided into units and turned it into a collection of framed paintings, along with the cast masks among the garlands, and carved putti, and sculptures supporting the central scene. This large central scene depicts the triumphal progress of Bacchus and Ariadne. Two smaller paintings are attached to the top and bottom of the central picture, and two vertical pictures on either side, filled with sphinxes, Pan, and two satyrs.
The Palazzo's design has inspired several buildings outside Italy, including theDetroit Athletic Club in Detroit, Michigan;[9]Château Grimaldi nearAix-en-Provence, France; theNational Building Museum in Washington, D.C., US; theChief Secretary's Building in Sydney; the Banco di Roma in Alexandria, Egypt; theRoyal Palace, Stockholm, and theCunard Building in Liverpool. Also in England,Charles Barry's great admiration for the building[10] led him to use it as the model for London'sReform Club.
InPuccini's operaTosca (1900), set inNapoleonic Rome, theheroine's confrontation with the malevolent chief of police, Scarpia, takes place in Palazzo Farnese. The Palazzo was inherited from the Farnese by theBourbon kings ofNaples, from whom theFrench government purchased it in 1874. Though the government ofBenito Mussolini purchased it in 1936, the French Embassy remains, under a 99-year lease for which they pay the Italian government a symbolic fee of 1 euro per month.
The Palazzo Farnese houses the great scholarly library amassed by theEcole Française de Rome, concentrating especially on thearcheology of Italy andmedievalPapal history. The Ecole Française de Rome embarked on a massive project of publishing as much of the documentation of the constructing of the palazzo, its frescoes and furnishings, library and works of art, fully annotated and indexed. The first three volumes are:
The Palazzo Farnese was filmed as part of the 2013Julian Fellowes re-creation of Shakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet starringDouglas Booth as Romeo.[citation needed]
Palazzo Farnese travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related toPalazzo Farnese (Roma) at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Palazzo della Consulta | Landmarks of Rome Palazzo Farnese | Succeeded by Palazzo Fusconi-Pighini |
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