1872/78 Raffaele Canevari
(1828/1900)
Formerly known as PALAZZO DEL MINISTERO DELLE FINANZE (Palace
of the Ministry of Finance)
FAÇADE ON VIA XX SETTEMBRE di Pietro
Costa (1849/1901)
Finished
only in 1881 for the identification and cataloging of the archaeological
structures that were found, including remains of the Servian
Wall and the Porta Collina (Collina Gate)
During the
work there were many accidents with some workers dead and seventy injured: this
gave the building the nickname of Palazzone delle Disgrazie (The big Palace
of Misfortune)
It covers 36,000
m² (8.9 acres) of occupied area
It was the
first ministry to be built in Rome as new capital of Italy
“The
slowness of the works and the fact that it exceeded largely the budgeted costs
were considered a disgrace by the public opinion, which saw in the palace the
first and largest architectural work of the new Italian capital. The façade
design was carried out by L. Martinori, who also designed the sculptural cycle
of large curved gables started in 1876 together with the sculptor Garofoli. F.
Pieroni designed the central courtyard with the fountain” (Guido Miano -
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)
Frescoes by
Domenico Bruschi (1840/1910) and Cecrope Barilli (1839/1911)
YELLOW ROOM
Frescoes by
Cesare Mariani (1826/1901)
In this
room the first ever Council of the Italian Ministers, to be held in Rome, met
Museo
Numismatico della Zecca Italiana
Numismatic
Museum of the Italian Mint
On the
first floor
It contains
about 20,000 works: over 10,000 coins exhibited in thirty-seven showcases,
about 7000 medals, objects regarding coinage and models in wax
One room is
dedicated to Benedetto Pistrucci (1784/1855) who
made 425 models in wax for medals and cameos kept in the museum. He carried out
most of his activities in London at the Royal Mint, where he made the gold
sterling of which the museum displays the original model
Ninety-six
models in wax for papal medals by Giuseppe Bianchi
(1808/77) and his son Francesco Bianchi
(1842/1918)
Monumento a Silvio Spaventa
Monument to Silvio Spaventa
1898 Giulio Tadolini (1849/1918)
Silvio
Spaventa was minister of finance in the years 1873/76
Monumento a Quintino Sella
Monument to Quintino Sella
1893 Ettore Ferrari (1845/1929) with allegorical
group “Law” and “Genius of Finance”
Quintino
Sella was the Finance Minister who achieved a balanced budget at the cost of
tax increases, including the tax on flour
He was
an experienced mountaineer and founded in 1863 the Club Alpino Italiano
(Italian Alpine Club)
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