Quirinal Palace

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The Quirinal Palace today

The Quirinal Palace ( Italian Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a palace built from 1583 on the Quirinal in Rome . It is the seat of the President of the Italian Republic .

history

Engraving from the 18th century

The building on the Piazza del Quirinale was first built by Pope Gregory XIII. occupied as a summer residence. Moreover, it served temporarily as alignment location for papal conclaves and also as an administrative building of the former Papal States . In 1871 Rome was declared the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and the palace was confiscated. Compensation was only paid in the context of the 1929 Lateran Treaty . The building remained the seat of the kings of Italy until 1946. After the abolition of the monarchy , the republic took it over as the official seat of the president.

Interior

The courtyard
Francesco Amirante , outgoing President of the Constitutional Court, on his farewell visit to President Giorgio Napolitano (right) in his office in the Palazzina del Fuga

The main building surrounds a large, rectangular inner courtyard , on which state guests can be received with military honors away from the public . In the far north-west is the oldest part of the building with a striking tower. It is the original papal villa, designed by the architect Ottaviano Mascarino and built between 1583 and 1585 on the former estate of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa , including a much admired elliptical spiral staircase . In the piano nobile , the President receives foreign heads of state and government and their delegations in the Sala del Bronzino ; his offices are located in the far west of this old part of the building.

"Ascension" or
"Blessing of Christ"

In 1587 Sixtus V commissioned Domenico Fontana to convert the villa into a summer residence, which should also provide space for the court . Under Fontana, the long wing of the building with the main entrance and the short wing opposite the old building were built in the south . The inner courtyard remained open to the gardens until Paul V had the second long wing built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio at the beginning of the 17th century and the main building assumed its rectangular shape with the inner courtyard. In this eastern area, Ponzio created the so-called grand staircase and the consistory hall , while his successor Carlo Maderno created the Sala Regia and the Cappella Paolina . The latter corresponds to the dimensions of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican . Today the Cappella Paolina is mainly used as a concert hall. The Sala Regia , today named Salone dei Corazzieri after the bodyguard of the President of the Republic , is used as a representation room for state visits and for official events of various kinds that require more space. In the former consistory hall and today's ballroom with its around 300 square meter carpet, not only state banquets take place, but also, for example, the swearing-in of new governments. In the many other representative rooms of the building there are countless works of art, among others by Carlo Maratta , Pietro da Cortona , Ferdinando Fuga , Giovanni Paolo Pannini , Agnolo Bronzino , Pier Francesco Mola and Guido Reni . In Ponzio's staircase you can see the most famous fresco of the Quirinal Palace, the Ascension of Christ by Melozzo da Forlì .

The so-called “long sleeve” (manica lunga) extends from the main building in a north-easterly direction on Via del Quirinale , a wing planned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and expanded several times over the years. This is where, among other things, the "Imperial Apartments" ( appartamenti imperiali ) are located, in which the German Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed on his state visits to Rome in 1888 and 1893 . These apartments are still available to state guests today. The north-eastern end of the “long sleeve” is the Palazzina del Segretario della Cifra , designed by Ferdinando Fuga , the former papal cipher that now houses the President's apartment and office. In this building, also known as the Palazzina del Fuga , the President conducts a large part of his official business and welcomes guests from home and abroad. The main building, the "long sleeve" and the newer stables with its carriage museum , located in the northwest on Via delle Scuderie , enclose the four hectare gardens from the 18th century, which include the Coffee House designed by Fuga . The remains of the ancient Quirinus temple were excavated under the garden .

Others

Corazzos in the Quirinal Palace

On the tower of the old building, the flag of Italy and usually the European flag and the standard of the state president fly. The latter will be obtained when the President is not in Rome. In the tower itself is a dining room that allows a wide view over the rooftops of the city. A few meters north of the tower and the old building is a very rarely used heliport .

In front of the Quirinal Palace is the Dioscuri Fountain with the Quirinale Obelisk on the Piazza del Quirinale . Opposite are the Palazzo della Consulta , seat of the Italian Constitutional Court , and the Palazzo delle Scuderie al Quirinale , an older royal stables that now serve as an art and exhibition hall ( Scuderie del Quirinale ). On Via del Quirinale opposite the “long sleeve” is the church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale , which served the Savoy as court church until 1946 , and the Palazzo Sant'Andrea , formerly the seat of the Ministry of the Royal House and today the archive of the Presidential Office.

From a statistical point of view, the Quirinal Palace as a coherent building complex with a total of around 1,200 rooms on almost 111,000 square meters is one of the largest official seats of a head of state worldwide. It must be taken into account that the President only has a relatively small private apartment in the Palazzina del Fuga , that the presidential office is concentrated in the Palazzina and in part of the "long sleeve" and that the main building is only used when there is a special need . President Sergio Mattarella ordered the further opening of the Quirinal Palace to visitors in February 2015. There are guided tours of the main building, the gardens and the carriage museum.

In addition to the Quirinal Palace, the President has an estate in Castelporziano near Rome and the Villa Rosebery on the Gulf of Naples . The Corazzieri are responsible for protecting the President and his residence .

Metonymically , Italian press reports often only use il Quirinale or il Colle (both names for the hill) when referring to the office of president.

Web links

Commons : Quirinal Palace  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the Quirinal Palace on palazzo.quirinale.it
  2. ↑ Also called "Redeemer with Angels", "Triumphant Christ" or "Blessing of Christ". Details on palazzo.quirinale.it
  3. ^ National Geographic Channel : Dentro il Quirinale, diario fotografico of January 2, 2011
  4. ^ Caro Montanelli, il Quirinale è già un museo . Indro Montanelli vs. Gaetano Gifuni on June 23, 1999 in the Corriere della Sera (archive)
  5. ↑ Description of the gardens on palazzo.quirinale.it
  6. ↑ Mattarella opens his palace to the people. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, February 25, 2015
  7. ↑ Details on the necessary advance registration on palazzo.quirinale.it (German) and at the Infopoint, Salita di Montecavallo 15A (on Quirinalsplatz).

Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 0.9 ″  N , 12 ° 29 ′ 13.4 ″  E