Palazzo Chigi
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The Palazzo Chigi [ kiːʤi ] has been the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister since 1961 . The building is located in the center of Rome on Piazza Colonna opposite the Column of Marcus Aurelius . To the west it borders on the Palazzo Montecitorio , where the Chamber of Deputies is located, and to the east on Via del Corso .
history
The Aldobrandini family had the palace built between 1578 and 1587. It is named after the noble Chigi family , who bought it in 1659 and used it as a city palace for a long time . From the end of the 18th century the building housed the Spanish embassy , and from 1878 the Austro-Hungarian embassy . In 1916 the Chigi sold the palace to the Italian state, which used it as the colonial ministry until 1922 and as the foreign ministry from 1922 to 1961 , then as the official residence of the head of government .
Interior
The rectangular building encloses an inner courtyard where state guests are received with military honors . The main entrance is now on the south side, facing Piazza Colonna . It used to be on the east side of Via del Corso , where the staircase is today. The most important rooms are located in the piano nobile on the south and east sides, including the prime minister's office and the cabinet room with the respective anteroom as well as other richly decorated rooms. On the other upper floors are the Prime Minister's private apartments, a large conference room and a library ( Biblioteca Chigiana ), the original holdings of which went to the Vatican Apostolic Library in 1923 . The other rooms are mainly used for conference, representation or administration purposes.
Others
Not all of the offices of the Council of Ministers' offices are located in Palazzo Chigi. Several other buildings in the near and far are also used, including the Palazzo Vidoni Caffarelli and the Villa Doria Pamphilj guest house .
Web links
- History of the Palazzo, Italian
- Description with picture, English
- Description with building history, German
Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 4.9 ″ N , 12 ° 28 ′ 46.9 ″ E