Palazzo Torlonia
The Palazzo Torlonia is a Renaissance palace in Rome on Via della Conciliazione . The palace was built between 1496 and 1507 as the residence of Cardinal Adriano Castellesi da Corneto, secretary to Pope Alexander VI. and Julius II , who also gave it its original name, Palazzo Castellesi. Its facade design is very similar to the Palazzo della Cancelleria , which probably served as a template, but without achieving its aesthetic quality. The architect or architects can no longer be clearly identified. Donato Bramante , Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and Andrea Bregno are named among others. Today the palace bears the name of the Torlonia family of bankers , who acquired, renovated and expanded it in 1820. It is still owned by the family today. In literature, the palace is also known as Palazzo Giraud-Torlonia.
historical overview
The so-called Borgo , the Roman district between Vatican City and Castel Sant'Angelo , has been a very densely built-up area since the early Middle Ages. On the occasion of the anniversary year 1500 Pope Alexander VI. a connecting road between St. Peter and Castel Sant'Angelo, the Via Alessandrina, break through this quarter and decreed that representative magnificent buildings be built there. Cardinal Adriano Castellesi da Corneto, closely associated with the Borgia, had his palace built there from 1496 on the now defunct Piazza Scossacavalli and next to the Church of San Giacomo. In 1507 Cardinal Castellesi was involved in the conspiracy of Cardinals Petrucci and Sauli against Pope Leo X. and had to leave Rome. Giorgio Vasari therefore wrote about the building and its owner: "It was built slowly and in the end it remained unfinished because of the flight of this cardinal".
The cardinal, as he was an English citizen and enjoyed the trust of the English king, gave the still unfinished palace to King Henry VIII of England.The English king had the construction continued and the facade decorated with graffiti by Polidoro da Caravaggio and gave it in 1519 the legate of Pope Leo X at the English court, Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggi . This led in 1529 with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey the divorce process of Henry VIII. After the excommunication and the ban of Henry VIII in 1538 by Pope Paul III. the Holy See confiscated the palace. The Campeggi family continued to live in the palace until 1609, when the palace also served as the residence of the English ambassador to the Holy See. The Borghese followed as residents of the palace until 1624 .
An engraving by Giuseppe Vasi from 1756 shows the facade with the entrance portal on Piazza Scossacavalli and the Church of San Giacomo. There was a fountain in front of the palace, which today stands in front of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle .
In 1760, Count Pietro Giraud, a member of the Giraud banking family from Marseille, bought the palace and gave it their name.
In 1820 the palace became the property of the family of Prince Giovanni Torlonia . This wealthy banking family, closely linked to the papal court through high offices, restored it at considerable expense, had a wing added by the architect Enrico Gennari instead of the garden and enriched the building with a collection of statues, busts, reliefs and old architectural fragments. The facade was completed and the graffiti by Polidoro da Caravaggio was removed. During this period, the palace housed a remarkable collection of ancient art, which the prince also made available to the public. The prince also owned the unfinished sculpture "Hercules and Lichias" by Antonio Canova until it passed into the possession of the Kingdom of Italy in 1892. It is considered an epochal work of classicism. In the 19th century, part of the palace was rented to the American and author JC Heywood for a longer period of time, who was forgotten despite some works such as "Sforza", "Herodias" and "Antonius".
In 1936, after the Lateran Treaties were concluded in 1929, at the instigation of Benito Mussolini, the so-called Spina, the row of houses along Via Alessandrina including the church of San Giacomo a Scossacavalli, was demolished and the boulevard Via della Conciliazione was created as an access road to St. Peter's Square. Therefore, today the facade of the palace points to Via della Conciliazione.
To this day, the property management of the Torlonia family is housed in the palace.
Architects
As with the great model, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, the question of the architect (s) cannot be clearly determined with the Palazzo Torlonia. Giorgio Vasari as well as Jacob Burckhardt attribute the building to Donato Bramante. Likewise, Arnaldo Bruschi, a well-known Italian art historian, was almost certain that Bramante was the author of the original project. Auguste Choisy is of the opinion that Bramante copied his design of the Palazzo della Cancelleria for the Palazzo Torlonia. The interior courtyard in particular can be stylistically assigned to Bramante in terms of its shape and furnishings. Christoph Luitpold Frommel assumes that, despite stylistic similarities, both palaces could not have the same author. In contrast to Bruschi, he thinks that the first architect of the Palazzo Torlonia remains unknown, whereas Bramante is the architect of the inner courtyard. Later, however, he attributes the exterior of the palace to Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. Letarouilly names Andrea Bregno, who is often mentioned in connection with the Palazzo della Cancelleria. However, this is unlikely as the architect of the overall project, as he was primarily a sculptor and stonemason. In general, it can be noted that the architecture shows clear traces of a master who was shaped by Leon Battista Alberti .
Location and location
The palace is located in Rome, Via della Conciliazione, 30 in the Rione Borgo, approx. 250 meters from the state border with the Vatican State. The main entrance is on Via della Conciliazione. Via dell 'Erba delimits the palace on the west side in the direction of St. Peter and Vicolo dell'Inferriata on the east side of the palace. The north wing of the palace complex borders the Borgo Sant 'Angelo and the Passetto di Borgo , the connecting passage between the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo, which was formerly part of the city wall of Leo IV and was rebuilt by Pope Nicholas III in the 13th century.
Naming
The original name was Palazzo Castellesi, after the builder of the palace. In the 18th century, the French banking family Giraud renamed the palace to Palazzo Giraud. The Renaissance building underwent another name change in the 19th century when the Torlonia family bought it. In literature, the palace can often be found under the double name Palazzo Giraud-Torlonia.
Exterior design
The Renaissance palace corresponds to the style typical of the late 15th century in Rome. The resemblance to the Palazzo della Cancelleria is striking. For this reason, the Palazzo Torlonia is sometimes referred to as the “little Cancelleria”. Essential, style-defining elements such as the order of the pilasters and the cut stone blocks were adopted. However, the striking corner projections of the Palazzo della Cancelleria are missing. In its entirety, however, it does not achieve the balance of proportions and the rhythmic harmony of the masterful facade architecture of its model.
The facade is divided into three zones by cornices with pilaster strips, with the ground floor being dominated by the unequal proportions in height. The entrance gate is positioned in the middle of the basement and was renovated in the 18th century. The first floor has arched windows in aedicules, rhythmized with pilasters and composite capitals. Rectangular windows are set into the upper facade zone, above which there are again small arched windows. The pilasters of the piano nobile were added, but made more filigree.
patio
The harmonious, square inner courtyard is reflected in the design and a. Attributed to Donato Bramante. Construction began around 1507. Until the 18th century, the inner courtyard led into the adjoining garden and stables.
Antique statues and busts as well as two fountains with marble reliefs adorn the courtyard today. In this cortile there are also nine marble reliefs by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen . The history of these reliefs is poorly documented. Thorvaldsen had considered buying the palace as a museum for his works in 1827.
Web links
literature
- Arnaldo Bruschi: Edifici privati di Bramante a Roma . 1989-
- Jacob Burckhardt: History of the Renaissance in Italy. Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart 1868.
- Jacob Burckhardt: The architecture of the Renaissance. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1955.
- Auguste Choisy: Histoire de l'Architecture. Gauthier-Villars, Paris 1899.
- DuMont visual Rome. DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7701-3301-3 .
- Christoph Luitpold Frommel : Palace building of the high renaissance. Wasmuth, Tübingen 1973.
- Christoph Luitpold Frommel: The architecture of the Renaissance in Italy. CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58142-7 .
- Stefan Grundmann (Ed.): Architectural Guide Rome. Edition Axel menges, Stuttgart / London 1997, ISBN 3-930698-59-5 .
- Paul Marie Letarouilly: In: Edifices de Rome Moderne. 1840.
- Thomas Pöpper: Sculptures for the Papacy. Pöttner, Leipzig, ISBN 978-3-938442-86-9 .
- Reclam's art guide Rome and Lazio. Volume V, Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1962.
- Simonetta Valtieri: La fabbrica del Palazzo del Cardinale Raffaele Riario. In: Quaderni dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Architettura , No. 27 (1982).
- Giorgio Vasari: Le vite de 'più eccellenti pittori scultori ed architetti . 2nd edition, Giunti, Florence 1568. New edition by Gaetano Milanesi, Sansoni, Florence 1878–1892.
- Claudio Rendina: Palazzi Storici di Roma. Newton & Compton, Rome, ISBN 88-541-0444-2 .
- I Rioni di Roma. Newton & Compton, Rome 2000, ISBN 88-541-0344-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vasari: Le vite
- ↑ Marco Bussagli: Rom , Art Architecture, 1999, p. 607
- ↑ Lucentini, ways in the city , p. 390
- ^ Vasari: Le vite , Vol. 4, p. 155
- ^ Jacob Burckhardt: History of the Renaissance in Italy , p. 57
- ↑ Choisy: Histoire de l'Architecture , p. 670
- ↑ Palace of the High Renaissance , pp. 213–214
- ^ Frommel: The architecture of the Renaissance , p. 118
- ↑ Pöpper: sculptures for the papacy , S. 325 ff.
- ^ Stefan Grundmann: Architecture Guide Rome , p. 114
- ^ Thorvaldsen's reliefs in Palazzo Giraud-Torlonia; The Thorvaldsens Museum Archives
Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 9.9 " N , 12 ° 27 ′ 40.5" E