| Quirinal Palace | |
|---|---|
Palazzo del Quirinale | |
 The palace seen from Piazza del Quirinale | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| General information | |
| Location | Rome,Italy |
| Coordinates | 41°54′00″N12°29′15″E / 41.90000°N 12.48750°E /41.90000; 12.48750 |
| Current tenants | Sergio Mattarella, as President of Italy |
| Completed | 1583 |
| Client | Pope Gregory XIII |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Domenico Fontana Carlo Maderno |
TheQuirinal Palace (Italian:Palazzo del Quirinale[paˈlattsodelkwiriˈnaːle]) is a historic building inRome, Italy, the mainofficial residence of thePresident of the Italian Republic, together withVilla Rosebery inNaples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outskirts of Rome, some 25 km (16 mi) from the centre of the city. It is located on theQuirinal Hill, the highest of theseven hills of Rome in an area colloquially called Monte Cavallo. It has served as the residence for thirtypopes, fourkings of Italy and twelve presidents of the Italian Republic.
The Quirinal Palace, originally a papal residence built byPope Gregory XIII, was selected byNapoleon to be his residencepar excellence asemperor.[1] However, he never stayed there because of the French defeat in 1814 and the subsequentEuropean Restoration.[2]
The palace extends for an area of 110,500 square metres (1,189,000 sq ft) and is theeleventh-largest palace in the world.[3]
The current site of the palace has been in use sinceancient Roman times, as excavations in the gardens testify. On this hill, the Romans built temples for several deities, fromFlora toQuirinus, after whom the hill was named. During the reign ofConstantine the Great, the last complex ofRoman baths was built here, as the statues of the twinsCastor and Pollux taming the horses decorating the fountain in the square testify. The Quirinal, being the highest hill in Rome, was much sought after and became a popular location for theRoman patricians, who built luxurious villas there. An example is the remains of a villa in the Quirinal gardens, where amosaic, part of the old floor has been found.[citation needed]
The palace, located on theVia del Quirinale and facing onto thePiazza del Quirinale, was built in 1583 byPope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. The Pope, who wanted to find a location which was far away from the humidity and stench coming from the RiverTiber and likewise the unhealthy conditions of theLateran Palace, chose the Quirinal hill as it was one of the most suitable places in Rome. On the site, there was already a small villa owned by theCarafa family and rented toLuigi d'Este. The Pope commissioned the architectOttaviano Mascherino to build a palace with porticoed parallel wings and an internal courtyard by incorporating the Carafa villa, the original nucleus of the palace, later known as the Gregorian building. That project was not fully completed due to the Pope's death in 1585. However, it is still recognisable in the north part of the courtyard, especially in the double loggia facade, topped by the panoramic Torre dei Venti (tower of the winds) or Torrino. To the latter, a bell tower was added according to a project byCarlo Maderno andFrancesco Borromini.[citation needed]
Pope Paul V (r. 1605–1621) commissioned the completion of the work on the main building of the palace.
The palace was also used as the location forpapal conclaves in1823,1829,1831, and1846. It served as a papal residence and housed the central offices responsible for the civil government of thePapal States until 1870. In September 1870, what was left of the Papal States was occupied militarily and annexed to theKingdom of Italy. Some five months later, in 1871, Rome became the capital of the new Italian state. The palace became the official royal residence of the Kings of Italy, though some of these, notably KingVictor Emmanuel III (reigned 1900–1946) actually lived in a private residence elsewhere (Villa Savoia), leaving the Quirinal to be used simply as a suite of offices and for state functions. Themonarchy was abolished in 1946 and the palace became theofficial residence and workplace for thepresidents of the Italian Republic. Still, some have declined theColle residence and kept their usual Roman residence: for example,Sandro Pertini preferred his old flat near theTrevi Fountain.
The palace'sfaçade was designed byDomenico Fontana. Its Great Chapel was designed byCarlo Maderno. It contains frescos byGuido Reni, but the most famous fresco is theBlessing Christ byMelozzo da Forlì, placed over the stairs. The palace grounds include a famous set of gardens laid out in the 17th century.[4]
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The palace is composed of the main building, which is built around the majestic courtyard, with the most beautiful halls and rooms of the complex environments that serve as representative of the Presidency of the Republic, while the offices and apartments of the head of state are housed in the Fuga building at the end of theManica lunga, the long building on the side of Quirinal street (via del Quirinale in Italian). On thepiano nobile of theManica lunga lie the opulent imperial apartments, which were specially arranged, decorated and furnished for two visits of KaiserWilhelm II (in 1888 and 1893) and which now houses the monarchs or foreign heads of state visiting the president of the republic.[5] The palace, in its totality, has 1,200 rooms.
The rooms of the palace housed in the main building are:
The shape of the staircase was very useful during the papal period since the double-crossed ramp allowed to reach the two main rooms of the papal palace directly: the Throne room, today the Great hall of cuirassiers, and the Consistory room, today the Great hall of banquets, at the time used as papal private apartments.
This was the throne room of the papal palace, where ambassadors and dignitaries were received and public audiences were held. The royal guards stood here during theSavoy period. Today, the room serves for public audiences, receptions, and solemn ceremonies held by the Presidency of the Republic.
It is the largest chapel in the building, built with the same size and shape as the Sistine Chapel so that the same ceremonial could be repeated both in the Vatican and in the Quirinal. Four popes were elected here. Today the chapel hosts concerts and religious ceremonies.
It is one among the rooms formerly part of the papal private apartments, today hosting informal meetings of the president of the republic on occasion.
The Yellow Room was once part of a seventy-meter long gallery built byPope Alexander VII, later ordered split by Napoleon to serve as Empress's private residence. It features magnificent yellow fabrics lined to the walls, hence the name of the room. In modern times, under the republic, the Napoleonic decorations were mostly removed, revealing the original ornaments.
This room hosted the throne during the Savoy reign.
This room was used to receive dignitaries before the ceremonies, a purpose it still fulfills.
This room is one of the latest Savoy's interventions opened in the 1940s by dismantling rooms of the private papal apartments. The name derives from the tapestries on the walls representing the twelve labors of Hercules.
This room was also opened by dismantling rooms of the papal private apartment. It is a passage room; the name derives from the precious cabinets displayed here.
This extraordinary masterpiece of the architect Ottaviano Mascarino is the original staircase of theGregorian building. The ramp winds up to aspirate to culminate in a skylight. In the Savoy era, we risked losing this masterpiece as well as all the other rooms of the Gregorian building: some princes wanted it to be destroyed to make room for a large ballroom; the project was eventually halted due to excessive expenses.
This room was used as a dining room by the Savoy family.
Theenfilade of the tapestries room, of the mirrors room and of the great hall of banquets was conceived in the Savoy era for the court galas which were held once a month, on the third Thursday of the month. Arriving from the staircase of honour, you first came across the great Hall of banquets, followed by the mirrors room and by the tapestries room. The tapestries room, in particular, was used as a conversation room.
It is the smaller chapel of the palace. In the Savoy era, it was deconsecrated and used by servants to wash dishes since it was close to the zodiac room.
This room was used by the Savoy as a ballroom. Here today are held audiences of the president of the republic with few participants and the oath of theJudges of the Constitutional Court.
In the papal era, this room was used as the consistory room where the Cardinal's College met. From the Savoy period onwards, banquets and state dinners have been held here. Today, the new government is also sworn in here.
Here the president of the republic meets theentourage of visiting foreign dignitaries. The name of the room derives from the tapestries on display, made onAgnolo Bronzino's own design.
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The Quirinal Gardens, famous for the privileged position that makes them almost an "island" elevated above Rome, were, over the centuries, changed depending on the tastes and needs of the papal court.
The current arrangement complements the garden "formal" seventeenth century facing the original core of the building with the garden "romantic" in the second half of the eighteenth century, preserving at that time the elegant Coffee House built byFerdinando Fuga as reception room ofBenedict XIV Lambertini, decorated by paintings ofPompeo Batoni andGiovanni Paolo Pannini.
Within the Quirinal gardens lies the famouswater organ[6] built between 1997 and 1999 byBarthélemy Formentelli based on the characteristics of the previous nineteenth-century organ. The organ is fed by a waterfall with a jump of 18 meters and has a single keyboard of 41 notes with a firstshort octave, withoutpedalboard.
Overall, the Quirinal gardens extend over 4 hectares (10 acres).[7]
By means of a trap door located in the gardens, entry can be gained to the archaeological excavations that have unearthed the remains of the original temple to the godQuirinus and someinsulae of theimperial age.[8][9][10]
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| Preceded by Palazzo Mattei | Landmarks of Rome Quirinal Palace | Succeeded by Palazzo Pamphilj |
| International | |
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| Other | |
