MADAMA PALACE

PALAZZO MADAMA

Piazza Madama

1503 for Giovanni de' Medici, the future Pope Leo X (1513/21) from a building of the fifteenth century

It was enlarged in 1512

It owes its name to Madame Margaret of Austria (1522/86), daughter of Charles V, the widow of Alessandro de' Medici and then wife of Ottavio Farnese, who was the nephew of Pope Paul III Farnese (1534/49). She lived in the palace from 1541 to 1550

Restructured in the years 1637/42 Paolo Marucelli (1594/1649) who worked from a project by Ludovico Cardi aka Cigoli (1559/1613) for the Grand Duke of Florence, Cosimo II Medici and his son Ferdinand II

“The 'facies' (general appearance) of the building reflects the need of the Grand Duke and cardinals to assert a Tuscan identity, adapting it to the Roman location and to the plasticity of the Baroque era. (...) It is apparent from recent archival research that Marucelli alternated the role of designer to the Director in charge of construction, coordinating artists and craftsmen working under his guidance in other important contemporary Roman sites, such as the sculptor Cosimo Fancelli (...) The bad critique of Marucelli began at least from Milizia who judged negatively façade and courtyard of Palazzo Madama and lasted into the twentieth century from Portoghesi to Ruschi. A deeper understanding of his work must necessarily start from the studies of Connors and can lead to see him as an interpreter of a seventeenth century balanced between late fifteenth century classicism, with strong references to the work of Palladio, and baroque eclecticism” (Laura Traversi - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

On the FAÇADE there are over a hundred figures of lions including the skin of the Nemean lion carved on the entrance door, which recalls the myth of Hercules and are consistent with the face of Omphale whose braids surround a window

Hercules and Omphale generated Tyrrhenus, mythical ancestor of the Etruscan (in Greek Tyrsenoi), from whom the Medici traced their genealogy

Omphale kept Hercules for three years as his slave. The submission of Heracles was such that he was forced to dress as a woman and humbled to spin wool while Omphale dressed the manly lion skin of Hercules

At the end of 1500 the palace was home of Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, who hosted Caravaggio here from 1595 until 1600

From 1737 it belonged to the Lorraine family, then it was the seat of the papal government, the seat of the papal court and police headquarters and from this comes the Roman dialect word madama (lady) as to indicate the police

Since 1849 it was the Ministry of Finance and on the external loggia the extraction of the lottery used to take place

It was expanded in 1905 toward S. Luigi dei Francesi

It is the seat of the SENATE OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC

COURTYARD OF HONOR

Statue “Great squat figure” 1971 by Emilio Greco (1913/95)

SENATE CHAMBER

Obtained from the original courtyard by Luigi Gabet (active 1858/78)

MACCARI ROOM

Ceiling:

“Four round panels” with allegorical figures (trade, agriculture, weapons, arts, sciences and the arts), arranged around a central motif, symbolizing Italy

Along the frieze there are sentences of Guicciardini and Machiavelli

Three large frescoes:

“Appius Claudius the Blind conducted in the Senate”, “Regulus advises the Roman Senate resistance against Carthage” and “Cicero inveighs against Catiline”

Two small frescos:

“Senator Papirius Gallo impassive as the Celts invade Rome” and “Attempt to corruption of the Samnites against Curio Dentato to convince the Romans to peace” all made in the years 1882/88 by the Sienese artist Cesare Maccari (1840/1919)

MARCONI ROOM

Ceiling and seventeenth-century frieze

In the frieze “History of Pius IV Medici (1559/65)” maybe by Pietro Paolo Baldini (about 1614/about 1684)

ANTECHAMBER OF THE BALUSTRADE

Seventeenth-century frieze

Painting “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist” by the Florentine Carlo Dolci (1616/86)

ROOM OF THE POSTERGALI

The name of the room is given by the postergali, or headboards of a seventeenth-century choir preserved here

It occupies part of the area where the church of S. Salvatore in Thermis used to be. It was destroyed at the end of 1800s because, being adjacent to the palace, it could have posed a threat of terrorist attacks

Two paintings with views of the “Roman Forum” and of the “Baths of Diocletian” by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691/1765)

ROOM OF THE OSTRICH

Painting “Etna eruption” by Corrado Cagli (1910/76)

ROOM CAVOUR

Oval in the center of the ceiling “Bacchus and Ariadne” by G.B. Pittoni (1687/1767)

The room is available to members of the government during sessions and sometimes here the Council of Ministers is held

PANNINI’S ROOM

Ceiling fresco “Allegory of the Chariot of the Sun” 1725/26 by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691/1765)

The fresco was originally in the Palazzo Bachetoni which was demolished in 1926 for the opening of Via del Tritone

STUDY OF THE PRESIDENT

“Portrait of a Man” by Gerrit Van Honthorst aka Gherardo Delle Notti (1590/1656)

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar's” by Luca Giordano (1634/1705)

BUVETTE

“Fountain” by Vincenzo Gemito (1852/1929

LIBRARY

Arranged by Gaetano Koch (1849/1910). Since 2006 it is called Geopolitics Room

BRASCHI PALACE (first part)

PALAZZO BRASCHI

Piazza S. Pantaleo 10

1791/96 Cosimo Morelli (1732/1812) for Pius VI Braschi (1775/99) who wanted a home for his nephew Luigi Braschi Onesti

A previously existing building dating to 1435 which belonged to the Orsini family was demolished. It had been enlarged in 1501 by Cardinal Carafa and had a tower by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger

Cosimo Morelli was from Imola, the same area from which the pope came, and he was also the architect of the Cathedral of Imola and those of Macerata and Fermo, as well as the theaters of Imola, Fermo and L'Aquila

“Morelli drew models from famous Roman buildings of the sixteenth century, with citations of works in Emilia, through a selection process aiming to reduce everything to a simple and correct style. Trying to blend simplicity and monumental, in the façades made in travertine and brickwork, with use of ashlar, he made the architectural elements busier and reversed what had been the Renaissance grandeur” (Davide Righini - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Completed 1802/11 by Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839) for the Duke Luigi Braschi Onesti

It was the last Roman palace to be commissioned by a family of popes

It was sold by the heirs of the family Braschi to the Italian State in 1871, and for fifty years it was the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior

In 1930 it became the seat of the Fascist Federation of Rome

Immediately after the armistice of 8 September 1943 it was occupied by the minions of Gino Bardi and Guglielmo Pollastrini, two fascist thugs who reconstituted the Fascist Federation of Rome. So a reign of terror began and the palace was the seat of prison and torture at the hands of the so-called banda di Palazzo Braschi (gang of Palazzo Braschi)

After the war three hundred homeless families lived in the palace until 1949, causing serious damage to the decorations

PAINTED DECORATIONS ON ALL THREE FLOORS OF THE BUILDING by the painter Liborio Coccetti (1739/1816) from Foligno, begun as early as 1791. The four rooms on the first floor cannot be attributed to him with certainty

“In his early work in Umbria he expressed himself in a language that shows full participation to the rococo culture, with remarkable results for panache and finesse, and shows, especially in the paintings on historical themes, relations with the Roman culture of the first half of the eighteenth century, especially with Sebastiano Conca. On an unspecified date he moved to Rome, where the patronage of Pope Braschi won him important commissions. (...) Since 1779 he had a succession of prestigious jobs in Rome and Lazio, in which shows a progressive approach to the neoclassical style. It can be said that there was no Roman family wishing to upgrade their townhouse or country that did not ask for his work” (Vittorio Casale - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

OTHER FRESCOES

“Stories of Love and Psyche” about 1610 by Ludovico Cardi aka Cigoli (1559/1613) and “Annunciation of the Virgin” school of Federico Zuccari (about 1542/1609) and Taddeo Zuccari (1529/66)

FIRST FLOOR

CHAPEL designed by Giuseppe Valadier

During the fascist regime it became the chapel of the fallen fascists

On the right “St. Francis” by Guido Reni (1575/1642)

On the altar “Ivory Crucifix” of the eighteen century

Every Sunday morning at 11 Mass is celebrated here

BARBERINI PALACE - NATIONAL ART GALLERY (seventeenth part)

Room XXI - Earliest Caravaggisti

“The Holy Family with Angel and Sts. Elizabeth, Anna and John” about 1609 by Orazio Borgianni (1578/1616)

“The compositional structure of the painting depends, as it has been repeatedly pointed out, from Raphael prototypes (...), but the close viewpoint, the source of strong and definitely identified light, the thickening of the shadows and, above all, the extraordinary optical rendition of the basket of clothes in the bottom left corner, defined by Roberto Longhi, the most beautiful still-life of Italian 1600s and one of the most beautiful of the European 1600s, leaves no doubt on the exact Borgianni's adhesion to the naturalistic style” (Rossella Vodret)

“Madonna and Child with St. Anne” 1610 and “St. Cecilia and the Angel” about 1610 by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620)

In the Madonna and Child with St. Anna the dove and the pillow have an accuracy that could be described as photographic. A true virtuosity

The painting was originally the altarpiece of the chapel of the Lancellotti family in the church of S. Simeon Prophet in Via dei Coronari, now no longer existing

“The Madonna and Child with St. Anne is the meeting point between the Venetian color choice, especially the dark green awning that recalls the prototypes of the first period of the sixteenth century, the perfect colors, and the composition inspired by Caravaggio with only three figures focused in a dialogue with gestures and theological meanings in the figure of St. Anne, with garments resembling those of the prophetess of the same name who attends the Presentation of the Lord in the Gospel” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

“In St. Cecilia and the Angel, the brilliant idea of the enormous wings of the divine messenger dominates the composition. The representation of St. Cecilia as patron saint of music is enjoying renewed success in 1599 after the body of this Roman martyr was found. Saraceni proved adept at combining the sacred theme of the patron saint of music with the most profane theme of the concert very common in genre painting among the followers of Caravaggio” (Official website of the Barberini Gallery - www.galleriabarberini.beniculturali.it)

“The good fortune” about 1618 by Simon Vouet (1590/1649)

The gypsy on the left distracts the traveler by reading his hand while the gypsy on the right robs him as she makes a gesture of scorn with her right hand

Room XXII - Devout Paintings between 1500s and 1600s

“Christ and Mary Magdalene” by the Florentine Agostino Ciampelli (1565/1630)

“Washing of the Feet” by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643) study for the lost altarpiece for the Gregorian Chapel of the Basilica of St. Peter, the one that was derided by Caravaggio

“Madonna and Child with Sts. Mary Magdalene, Dominic and Francis” 1633 by Pietro Paolini (1603/81) from Lucca

“St. Francis in prayer” by Ludovico Cardi aka Cigoli (1559/1613)

“Cigoli was praised in his century as the great reformer who led the artists to abandon the exaggerated imitation of Michelangelo to adopt a more realistic style based on the tradition of fine Tuscan design (...). Modern criticism has focused its attention on Cigoli's stylistic sources, especially noting the prevalence of influences from Northern Italy or Tuscany and its contribution to the Florentine Baroque” (Miles Chappell - Biographical Dictionary of Italian Treccani)

“St. Francis in Prayer” about 1620 maybe by Carlo Saraceni (1579/1620) and assistants

“This St. Francis of Assisi in prayer, with bleak emphases, (original, according to Roberto Longhi, 1943, but, according to Alfred Moir, copy of a lost painting) was submitted for the exhibition of 2013 at Palazzo Venezia, to diagnostic tests that have highlighted the signs of repentance of a typical original painting, and therefore Rossella Vodret is now inclined to regard it as begun by the master, but completed by the assistants in the second decade of the seventeenth century” (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)

“Christ and the Samaritan woman” by G.B. Crespi aka Cerano (1567/1632)