Begun in
1560 by Jacopo Barozzi aka Vignola (1507/73) for
the Della Genga family
In 1586 it
was bought by Cardinal Pietro Deza who employed Martino
Longhi the Elder (1534/91) to continue the construction
Completed
in the years 1605/14 by Flaminio Ponzio
(1560/1613) for Cardinal Camillo Borghese who became Pope Paul V (1605/21). Carlo Maderno (1556/1629) also worked on the project
“Inside the
Palazzo Borghese, the arrangement of the doors, which allow in the side facing
the Piazza Borghese, to see a succession of nine consecutive environments and
at the far end, framed in the escape of doors, a particular image of the garden
is evidence of an attentiveness to illusive optical values, which reveals the
orientation of Ponzio toward a Baroque trend” (Paolo Portoghesi)
It is known
as the clavicembalo (harpsicord) for its shape and it is one of the
largest palaces of Rome
In the
famous FAÇADE TOWARDS THE RIVER TIBER 1612/14 by Flaminio
Ponzio, corresponding to the “keyboard” of the great harpsichord, there
is a PORTAL built in the years 1671/75 by Carlo
Rainaldi (1611/91)
In the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this palace was considered one of the four
wonders of the city along with the Palazzo Farnese, the
Caetani stairs in Palazzo
Ruspoli and the gate of Palazzo Sciarra
It is in
part the office of the Spanish Embassy and of the Hunting Club
Designed by
Martino Longhi the Elder with two rows of arches
supported by “Ninety-six wonderful columns in pairs” and “Ancient statues”
including some that adorned the stage of the Theatre of Pompey
NYMPHAEUM
“Bath of
Venus” and fountains by Giovanni Paolo Schor
(1615/74) and Carlo Rainaldi
ROOM OF THE
FOUR PARTS OF THE WORLD
Ludovico
Stern (son of Ignazio Stern) served with almost no interruption from 1748 to
1777 for the Prince Paolo Borghese Aldobrandini
“He worked
for patrons of the utmost importance and became the most popular painter of
altarpieces. Of high rank, although limited in number, was also the decorative
cycles for noble residences, culminating in his masterpiece, the four paintings
in Palazzo Borghese. His mature style, finally, presents characteristics of
refinement of color, essentiality of stroke and simplicity of composition that
place him along a line in Roman art of late eighteenth century leading up to
Giuseppe Cades, Antonio Cavallucci and Domenico Corvi” (Francesco Petrucci -
www.news-art.it)
IN THE
OTHER ROOMS
Frescoes by
the Roman Ciro Ferri (1634/89), by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606/80) from Bologna, by
Domenico Corvi (1721/1803) from Viterbo and by
the Venetian Paolo Piazza (1557/1621)
The huge
collection of paintings was transferred in 1891 to the Casino Borghese
Part of the
building (about 1,000 square meters) was owned by the entrepreneur Vittorio
Cecchi Gori from whom it was confiscated in 2009 following the bankruptcy of
the football team Fiorentina of which he was president
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