PALACE OF THE GEOLOGICAL OFFICE

PALAZZO DELL'UFFICIO GEOLOGICO

Largo S. Susanna 13

1873/80 Raffaele Canevari (1828/1900)

“Girders and beams of iron, cast iron columns, bolts and studs in sight. Raffaele Canevari, engineer, used these new materials for their functionality and transformed them into decorative elements” (Irene de Guttry)

“In this work, totally his own, which is undoubtedly his best architectural job, the technical and structural innovations and the ruthlessness of the formal language make the building comparable to contemporary European examples, freed, as it appears, of academic weight” (Guido Miano - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Institution founded in Florence in 1869 and moved to Rome in 1873 to complete the geological Italian map

In 1960 the Geological Office became the organ of the state mapping for geological and geothematic mapping

In 1976 the official geological coverage of the national territory in scale of 1:100,000 was completed

In 2002 the Geological Survey merged in the Agenzia per la Protezione dell'Ambiente e per i Servizi Tecnici (Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services) (APAT, later ISPRA), representing mainly the Dipartimento per la Difesa del Suolo (Department for the Defense of the Soil)

In 2002 during renovation works in the basement of the building a section of the original Servian Walls in blocks of cappellaccio stone was found, proof that their dating can be fixed without a doubt to the mid-sixth century BC

For the reconstruction of the walls in 378 BC Grotta Oscura tufa was used instead

GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Collection of about 150,000 artifacts accumulated in about 140 years of life of the institution: marbles and paleontological materials with specialized library and laboratory for analysis of minerals and rocks

The museum and the whole building have been lying for years in conditions of extreme neglect for the disgusting inefficiency or willful misconduct of the public administration that has dismantled the museum for a renovation that never happened, despite two governments have allocated public money to complete it. Another disgrace of the caste which sadly administers Italy

In front of the palace

Small section of the Servian Walls dating to 378 BC

Monument “Janus in the heart of Rome” 1997 by Pietro Consagra (1920)

PALACE OF THE MINISTRY OF TREASURE

PALAZZO DEI MINISTERI DEL TESORO E BILANCIO

Via XX Settembre 97

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

In Piazza delle Finanze in the garden on the left

1898 Giulio Tadolini (1849/1918)

Silvio Spaventa was minister of finance in the years 1873/76

Monumento a Quintino Sella

Monument to Quintino Sella

In Piazza delle Finanze in the garden on the right

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)

WALLS ALONG THE BANKS OF THE RIVER TIBER

MURAGLIONI DEL TEVERE

Lungoteveri

17 m (56 feet) high

Built from 1875 until 1905 by Raffaele Canevari (1828/1900) and Angelo Vescovali (1826/95)

The last section, under the Aventine Hill, was only built in 1925

Most of the work took place around 1890

Giuseppe Garibaldi was among the ones who strongly lobbied to build the walls

There had been a large flood on December 28, 1870, just two months after the Breach of Porta Pia: the height of the River Tiber had reached 17.22 m (56.5 feet), the largest flood since 1637

The River Tiber has an average flow rate of about 240 m³/s, (8,500 cubic feet/s) significantly lower than the main rivers of the world (the Seine has a capacity of about 500 m³/s - 17,500 cubic feet/s - the Nile about 3,000 m³/s - 106,000 cubic feet/s) but it can also increase tenfold during major floods

It is estimated that in the flood of December 24, 1598, the largest ever recorded, the flow of the river reached 4,000 m³/s (141,000 cubic feet/s). On that occasion the Ponte S. Maria or Ponte Senatorio was destroyed and it has been known as the Ponte Rotto (Broken Bridge) ever since

HOTEL DE RUSSIE

HOTEL DE RUSSIE 

Via del Babuino 9

1818 Giuseppe Valadier (1762/1839) for the Torlonia family that settled an inn called "delle Russie" (Russia's)

Converted into a hotel 1872 by Raffaele Canevari (1828/1900) as "Hotel of Russia and of the British Isles", which was changed in 1892 in "Hotel de Russie"

It became the elite meeting place in Rome at the time of King Humbert I (1878/1900) and Gabriele D'Annunzio

After the Second World War it was occupied by homeless people

Restored in 1954 by the Vaselli family who had bought it

The hotel closed in 1969 and housed the headquarters of the Directorate General of RAI (the public national television company)

In 1999 it was again opened as a hotel for the company Albergo di Russia and Sir Rocco Forte & Family SPA