Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi
Encyclopedia
The Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi is a palace in Rome
, Italy. It was built by the Borghese
family on the Quirinal Hill
; its footprint occupies the site where the ruins of the baths of Constantine
stood, whose remains still are part of the basement of the main building, the Casino dell'Aurora. The famed art collector Cardinal Scipione Borghese
, the nephew of Pope Paul V
, who wanted to be housed near the large papal Palazzo Quirinale. The palace and garden of the Pallavicini-Rospigliosi were the product of the accumulated sites and were designed by Giorgio Vasanzio and Carlo Maderno
in 1611-1616. Scipione owned this site for less than a decade, 1610-1616, and commissioned the construction and decoration of the casino and pergolata, facing the garden of Montecavallo. The Roman palace of this name should not be mistaken for the panoramic Villa Pallavicino on the shores of Lake Como
in Lombardy
.
, and two Triumphs by Antonio Tempesta
. Its ceiling displays what is considered the Bolognese painter Guido Reni
's fresco masterpiece (1624). It is surrounded by a painted frame or quadro riportato
and depicts Apollo in his Chariot preceded by Dawn (Aurora) bringing light to the world. The incorporated heraldic symbols were meant to link Scipione with Apollo. The work is classically restrained and mimics poses from ancient Roman sarcophagi, many of which are part of the museum's collection. The chariot procession which recalls the Annibale Carracci
's paintings in the Farenese Gallery in the Farnese Palace, shows even more restraint. There is little concession to perspective, and if anything the vibrantly colored style is an affront to the tenebrism of Caravaggio's followers, despite this being a pavilion commissioned by one of Caravaggio
's early patrons, Scipione Borghese. The pergolata is decorated by Paul Brill.
The architect Vansanzio succeeded in achieving a perfect balance between the architectural structure and the lavish decoration of the façade. It is characterised by slabs from Roman sarcophagi of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, which recount ancient mythological tales linked to the subject of love-death and the immortality of the soul. The central part of the façade is enhanced by big windows, which create charming transparency between outdoors and indoors and open onto the big central hall with its ceiling decorated with the Aurora fresco.
The same room holds other beautiful frescoes: the Triumph of Fame and the Triumph of Love by Antonio Tempesta, the Cardinal's coat of arms and Cherubino Alberti's putti, the Four Seasons by Paul Brill, 17th century marble busts and sculptures from the Roman era, including the famous Artemis the Huntress and the Rospigliosi Athena. The ceilings of the two side halls are frescoed by Domenico Passignano
with the Battle between Rinaldo and Armida and Giovanni Baglione
with the Tale of Armida and some paintings from the Pallavicini Collection are still kept there.
Later the site was sold to Giovanni Angelo Altemps for the sum of 115,000 scudi with the Reni Aurora fresco valued at 200 scudi. It was then sold to the Bentivoglio family, followeed by the Lante family, and then to Cardinal G. Mazarini. It is during the ownership by these families and individuals that the main building of the palace took its final shape.
The palace served as the French embassy in Rome prior before it moved to its more spacious current accommodation at the Palazzo Farnese. In 1704, the palace became a property of the Rospigliosi-Pallavicini family, who still own it and who enriched its decoration and completed its present art gallery.
The palace is still inhabited by the Princess Elvina Pallavicini, a notable member of Rome's Black Nobility
, and the casino is rented out for meetings.
and Colonna
families, this is the largest private collection in Rome. The rooms are frescoed by Paul Brill
, and a loggia in a garden is decorated with frescoes by Orazio Gentileschi
and Agostino Tassi
. Among the paintings that remain in the collection, following some sales and losses in previous centuries, are works by artists such as:
There is also a Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Pistoia
.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy. It was built by the Borghese
Borghese
Borghese is the surname of a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century holding offices under the commune. The head of the family, Marcantonio, moved to Rome in the 16th century and there,...
family on the Quirinal Hill
Quirinal Hill
The Quirinal Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian Head of State, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has come to stand for the Italian President.- History :It was...
; its footprint occupies the site where the ruins of the baths of Constantine
Baths of Constantine (Rome)
Baths of Constantine was a public bathing complex built on the Quirinal Hill in Rome by Constantine I, probably before 315.-Construction and plan:...
stood, whose remains still are part of the basement of the main building, the Casino dell'Aurora. The famed art collector Cardinal Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini...
, the nephew of Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
, who wanted to be housed near the large papal Palazzo Quirinale. The palace and garden of the Pallavicini-Rospigliosi were the product of the accumulated sites and were designed by Giorgio Vasanzio and Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno was a Swiss-Italian architect, born in Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle were of key importance in the evolution of the Italian Baroque...
in 1611-1616. Scipione owned this site for less than a decade, 1610-1616, and commissioned the construction and decoration of the casino and pergolata, facing the garden of Montecavallo. The Roman palace of this name should not be mistaken for the panoramic Villa Pallavicino on the shores of Lake Como
Lake Como
Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...
in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
.
The Casino dell'Aurora
The palace's main attraction, beside the art gallery, is the Casino dell'Aurora. The casino was designed by Vasanzio is located overlooking the Piazza del Quirinale. On the walls are four frescoes of the Seasons by Paul BrillPaul Brill
Paul Brill is a multiple Emmy Award-nominated composer, songwriter and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. He has scored dozens of feature films, television series and commercials, most notably including: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback, The Trials of Darryl Hunt,...
, and two Triumphs by Antonio Tempesta
Antonio Tempesta
Antonio Tempesta was an Italian painter and engraver, a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. He was born and trained in Florence and painted in a variety of styles, influenced to some degree by "Contra-Maniera" or Counter-Mannerism...
. Its ceiling displays what is considered the Bolognese painter Guido Reni
Guido Reni
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
's fresco masterpiece (1624). It is surrounded by a painted frame or quadro riportato
Quadro riportato
Quadro riportato is the Italian phrase for "carried picture". It is used in art to describe easel paintings or framed paintings that are seen in a normal perspective and inserted into a fresco...
and depicts Apollo in his Chariot preceded by Dawn (Aurora) bringing light to the world. The incorporated heraldic symbols were meant to link Scipione with Apollo. The work is classically restrained and mimics poses from ancient Roman sarcophagi, many of which are part of the museum's collection. The chariot procession which recalls the Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
's paintings in the Farenese Gallery in the Farnese Palace, shows even more restraint. There is little concession to perspective, and if anything the vibrantly colored style is an affront to the tenebrism of Caravaggio's followers, despite this being a pavilion commissioned by one of Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
's early patrons, Scipione Borghese. The pergolata is decorated by Paul Brill.
The architect Vansanzio succeeded in achieving a perfect balance between the architectural structure and the lavish decoration of the façade. It is characterised by slabs from Roman sarcophagi of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, which recount ancient mythological tales linked to the subject of love-death and the immortality of the soul. The central part of the façade is enhanced by big windows, which create charming transparency between outdoors and indoors and open onto the big central hall with its ceiling decorated with the Aurora fresco.
The same room holds other beautiful frescoes: the Triumph of Fame and the Triumph of Love by Antonio Tempesta, the Cardinal's coat of arms and Cherubino Alberti's putti, the Four Seasons by Paul Brill, 17th century marble busts and sculptures from the Roman era, including the famous Artemis the Huntress and the Rospigliosi Athena. The ceilings of the two side halls are frescoed by Domenico Passignano
Domenico Passignano
Domenico Passignano , born Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Contra-Maniera style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century.- Biography :...
with the Battle between Rinaldo and Armida and Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious involvement with the artist Caravaggio and his writings concerning the other Roman artists of his time.-Early life:A pupil of Francesco Morelli, he worked mainly...
with the Tale of Armida and some paintings from the Pallavicini Collection are still kept there.
Later the site was sold to Giovanni Angelo Altemps for the sum of 115,000 scudi with the Reni Aurora fresco valued at 200 scudi. It was then sold to the Bentivoglio family, followeed by the Lante family, and then to Cardinal G. Mazarini. It is during the ownership by these families and individuals that the main building of the palace took its final shape.
The palace served as the French embassy in Rome prior before it moved to its more spacious current accommodation at the Palazzo Farnese. In 1704, the palace became a property of the Rospigliosi-Pallavicini family, who still own it and who enriched its decoration and completed its present art gallery.
The palace is still inhabited by the Princess Elvina Pallavicini, a notable member of Rome's Black Nobility
Black Nobility
The Black Nobility are Roman aristocratic families who sided with the Papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on September 20, 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Apostolic Palace, and any nobles subsequently...
, and the casino is rented out for meetings.
Art gallery
The art gallery, the Galleria Pallavicini, was begun by Cardinal Lazzaro Pallavicini, and includes more than 540 paintings, designs and sculptures. Aside from the collections of the Doria-PamphiliDoria Pamphilj Gallery
The Doria Pamphilj Gallery is a large art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy. It is situated between the Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso...
and Colonna
Palazzo Colonna
The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings in central Rome, Italy, at the base of the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the church of Santi Apostoli...
families, this is the largest private collection in Rome. The rooms are frescoed by Paul Brill
Paul Brill
Paul Brill is a multiple Emmy Award-nominated composer, songwriter and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. He has scored dozens of feature films, television series and commercials, most notably including: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback, The Trials of Darryl Hunt,...
, and a loggia in a garden is decorated with frescoes by Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter, one of more important painters influenced by Caravaggio...
and Agostino Tassi
Agostino Tassi
Agostino Tassi was an Italian painter, mostly of landscapes and seascapes, who is now best known as the rapist of Artemisia Gentileschi....
. Among the paintings that remain in the collection, following some sales and losses in previous centuries, are works by artists such as:
-
- BotticelliSandro BotticelliAlessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
- Johann van BloemenJan Frans van BloemenJan Frans van Bloemen was a Flemish landscape painter of the Baroque period.Born in Antwerp, van Bloemen was a younger brother of Pieter van Bloemen, who had left for Rome in 1674, where Jan Frans joined him in 1689. In 1690 a third painting brother, Norbert van Bloemen , joined them as well...
with a veduta of the Colosseum. - Paul Bril with veduta of coast.
- Abraham BrueghelAbraham BrueghelAbraham Brueghel was a Flemish painter from the famous family of artists. He was the son of Jan Brueghel the Younger, the grandson of Jan Brueghel the Elder and the great-grandson of Pieter Brueghel the Elder.-Early life:...
III with a Still life with apples, pomegranate, grapes and a man. - Annibale CarracciAnnibale CarracciAnnibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
- Giuseppe Chiari with Flight from Egypt.
- Sebastiano ConcaSebastiano ConcaSebastiano Conca was an Italian painter.He was born at Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who acted as his assistant, he settled at Rome, where for several years he worked in chalk only, to...
with a Holy Family. - Pietro da CortonaPietro da CortonaPietro da Cortona, by the name of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, was the leading Italian Baroque painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator...
- Jacques CourtoisJacques CourtoisJacques Courtois was a French painter.-Biography:He was born at Saint-Hippolyte, near Besançon. His father was a painter, and with him Jacques remained studying up to the age of fifteen...
with two battle paintings. - DomenichinoDomenico ZampieriDomenico Zampieri was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School, or Carracci School, of painters.-Life:...
, Anthony Van DyckAnthony van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
with a Santa Rosalia. - Ludovico GimignaniLudovico GimignaniLudovico Gimignani was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome, during the Baroque period.Ludovico's father, Giacinto had been one of the main pupils emerging from the loose "studio" of painters working for Pietro da Cortona and who also received patronage from his fellow Pistoia native, the...
with an “Ester who faints in front of Assuero” and another completed with help by David de Coninck: Boy with greyhound . - Luca GiordanoLuca GiordanoLuca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
with Helen's escape. - GuercinoGiovanni Francesco BarbieriGiovanni Francesco Barbieri , best known as Guercino or Il Guercino, was an Italian Baroque painter from the region of Emilia, and active in Rome and Bologna. Guercino is Italian for 'squinter', a nickname that was given to him because he was cross-eyed...
has eight paintings including San Francis praying, Fruit-seller and child and Flora. - Lorenzo LottoLorenzo LottoLorenzo Lotto was a Northern Italian painter draughtsman and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school. He painted mainly altarpieces, religious subjects and portraits...
: Madonna with Child and Saints Jerome and Nicholas of Tolentino. - Benedetto LutiBenedetto LutiBenedetto Luti was an Italian painter.-Biography:Luti was born in Florence. He moved to Rome in 1691 where he was patronized by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, an enthusiast for the pastel portrait. Luti was one of the first artists to work in pastels as the final composition as...
with a portrait of Cardinal Fabroni. - Simone PignoniSimone PignoniSimone Pignoni was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.He apprenticed with Fabrizio Boschi, then with the more academic and puritanical Domenico Passignano, and finally with Francesco Furini. He is best known for painting in a style reminiscent of the morbidly sensual Furini. Reflective of...
has an attributed a Cefalo and Procris. - PoussinNicolas PoussinNicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
- Mattia PretiMattia PretiMattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta.- Biography :Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese...
with a Christ before Pontius Pilate. - ReniGuido ReniGuido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
- Rubens: Thirteen portraits of Jesus Christ and The Twelve Apostles
- SacchiAndrea SacchiAndrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
with the Drunkedness of Noah. - Luca SignorelliLuca SignorelliLuca Signorelli was an Italian Renaissance painter who was noted in particular for his ability as a draughtsman and his use of foreshortening...
- Ferdinand Voet with a portrait of Vincenzo Rospigliosi.
- Botticelli
See also
- Palais PallaviciniPalais PallaviciniPalais Pallavicini is a palace in the Josefsplatz 5, Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Pallavicini family. It was previously built and owned by the Fries family and is therefore also known as Palais Fries....
in Vienna
There is also a Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi in Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
.
External links
- Official website
- A Brief Guide to Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi
- Satellite photo- The Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, Casino dell'Aurora, and the gardens are located obliquely south of Piazza Quirinale and the massive Palazzo Quirinale. It is adjacent to a nearly triangular building. The casino overlooks the street.