Senator's Palace
The Senatorial Palace ( Italian : Palazzo Senatorio ) is a building on the Capitol Hill in Rome and now houses the city hall . Together with the Conservator's Palace and the Palazzo Nuovo , the Senator's Palace frames the Capitol Square , in the middle of which stands the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius .
The Senator's Palace should not be confused with the Palazzo Madama , where the Italian Senate meets.
Today's Senatorial Palace has a long history behind it. The beginnings of this palace fall in the year 78 BC. At that time the consul Quintus Lutatius Catulus was commissioned by the Senate to set up a state archive on the Capitol Hill. This so-called tabularium was then also built by the architect Lucius Cornelius.
In the course of the Middle Ages , the building, like most of the ancient structures erected on Capitol Hill, fell into disrepair. Only the Roman aristocratic Corsi family took advantage of the strategically favorable location of the Capitol Hill and expanded the former Tabularium into their fortress. They were probably also the ones who moved the main facade of the building away from the Roman Forum towards today's Capitol Square.
The Senator's Palace was given its present-day appearance in the 16th century according to Michelangelo's plans . The double staircase was added under the supervision of Michelangelo himself. Below the stairs he adds a fountain with ancient fountain figures - a personification of the Tiber and one of the Nile, and a statue of Minerva in the middle . The facade of the Senatorial Palace was added between 1573 and 1605 by the builders Giacomo della Porta and Girolamo Rainaldi . However, these did not exactly follow Michelangelo's plans, but changed a number of details.
In the course of the redesign in the 16th century, however, large parts of the previous buildings were included. So the substructure of the ancient tabularium was preserved. The two mighty corner towers are remnants from the building's time as a Corsi fortress. All together give the palace a very defensive character despite its baroque facade.
The bell tower in the middle of the building was built by Martino Longhi the Elder between 1578 and 1582 in place of a previous building.
Since 1871 the palace has served as the Roman town hall and the seat of the mayor of Rome.
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Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 34.8 " N , 12 ° 29 ′ 0.8" E