Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome
Palazzo Giustiniani | |
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General information | |
Address | Via Dogana Vecchia |
Town or city | Rome, Lazio |
Country | Italy |
Coordinates | 41°53′57.14″N 12°28′31.25″E / 41.8992056°N 12.4753472°E |
Current tenants | President of the Senate Senators for life Former presidents of Italy |
Construction started | 16th century |
Owner | Senate of the Republic |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Giovanni Fontana Domenico Fontana Francesco Borromini |
Palazzo Giustiniani or the Piccolo Colle (Little Hill) is a palace on the Via della Dogana Vecchia and Piazza della Rotonda, in Sant'Eustachio, Rome.
The palace contains the official residence of the President of the Senate of the Republic, the Sala Zuccari, the offices of the Life senators and former presidents of Italy, and some administrative offices. From 1901 until 1985, it was also the seat of the Masonic order of the Grand Orient of Italy.
History
The palace was built near the Pantheon at the end of the 16th century for Monsignor Francesco Vento, but in 1590 it was acquired by Giuseppe Giustiniani, a member of the Genoese Giustiniani family who had served as Governor of Chios. His son, Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani, linked it to other buildings until it encompassed an entire city block. The Cardinal's brother, Vincenzo Giustiniani, acquired an art collection of some 1600 items for the palace, including ancient statues and paintings by Giorgione, Titian, Raphael, and Caravaggio.
The original design of the building was produced by Giovanni Fontana, probably with assistance from his brother Domenico Fontana. It underwent various renovations throughout the first half of the seventeenth century, culminating in the work of Francesco Borromini, who is responsible for the doorway and the balcony above it, which are visible from the Dogana Vecchia, and an elegant internal courtyard, with an atrium containing lowered arches characteristic of Borromini's style.
In 1859, with the extinction of the main line of the Giustiniani family, the palace became the property of the Grazioli, who leased it to the Grande Oriente d'Italia masonic order in 1898. The Grande Oriente made it their headquarters on 21 April 1901; initiates referred to the palace as the "Vaticano Verde" or the "Vaticano dei 33.".[1] In 1917 a person of unsound mind killed Achille Ballori, Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite and associate Grand Master of the Grande Oriente d'Italia in the palace.[2]
At the beginning of 1926,
In 1938, an underground passage was built connecting the palace to the
The palace was used as an official residence by
In 1972, the palace was mentioned as the place in which
In 1973, the Communist parliamentarian and former mayor of Civita Castellana, Enrico Minio , committed suicide in his office in the palace, suffocating himself with a plastic bag.
It is customary that the President of the Senate provide offices in the palace to the president of the relevant council for the conduct of consultations, whether they are a member of the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate.
Description
Sala Zuccari
This hall's official name is the "Grand Gallery of the Palazzo Giustiniani" (
See also
- Quirinal Palace – the seat and official residence of the president of the Republic
- Palazzo Chigi – the seat and official residence of the Prime Minister
- Palazzo Madama – the seat of the Senate of the Italian Republic
- Palazzo Montecitorio – the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
- Palazzo della Consulta – the seat of the Constitutional Court of Italy
References
- ^ a b Laura Laurenzi, Cambia casa il Grande Oriente, la Repubblica, 13 July 1985
- ^ "Palazzo Giustiano Il Cuore E Il Diritto". Erasmo 30 November 2015.
- ^ Pietro De Leo, La guerra dei massoni per la sede del Senato, Il Tempo, 20/09/2016.
- ^ Filippo Ceccarelli, I passaggi segreti dei palazzi della politica, 26/11/2011.
- ^ Descrizione della Sala Zuccari sul sito del Senato della Repubblica Archived 2010-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
- ISBN 88-541-0207-5
External links
- "Palazzo Giustiniani".
- Storia e descrizione di Palazzo Giustiniani sul sito del Senato della Repubblica
Preceded by Palazzo Fusconi-Pighini |
Landmarks of Rome Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome |
Succeeded by Lateran Palace |