1513/46
Antonio Cordini aka Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
(1483/1546) for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III (1534/49)
who, once he became pope in 1534, completely renewed the project, doubling the
size
The Palace
of the Cardinal Albergati-Ferriz was demolished to make room for the
building. It used to stand in the right end side area of the palace. Paul III
also bought two blocks of irregular shape in front of the building and
demolished them to create the square
Some of the
materials used for the construction were in part taken from the Constantinian
Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the Walls
Sangallo
was succeeded by three great architects:
1546/49 Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564) who designed the
huge CORNICE overhanging about 2 m (6.5 feet),
the central balcony with the Farnese coat of arms, part of the SECOND and ALL
OF THE THIRD ORDER OF THE COURTYARD
1549/73 Jacopo Barozzi aka Vignola (1507/73) who continued it
for the two cardinal nephews Ranuccio (d. 1565) and Alessandro Farnese. They
were sons of Pierluigi, one of the four children of Paul III
1573/89 Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602) who completed the REAR
WING
The
building was so completed in 76 years
It was
nicknamed DADO DEI FARNESE (the Farnese Dice) and was considered one of
the four wonders of Rome with Palazzo
Borghese, the door of the Palazzo
Sciarra and the staircase of Palazzo
Ruspoli
“Not even
twenty years had passed since Peruzzi had built the Farnesina, a pleasant home,
in open air, with a lot of light, trees and gardens. Well, Palazzo Farnese is
the opposite and indicates a serious decline of Roman society, overwhelmed by
the pride of caste and the arrogance of the great families. The monumentality
of Palazzo Farnese is no longer expressive of ideals and history: the moment in
which the authority is transformed into power, the beauty turns into
decoration, the solemnity in pride unnecessarily cloaked in austerity. Not for
nothing Palazzo Farnese is the archetype of what it will be in 1600s and in
1700s, i.e. at the time of monarchical absolutism, the royal palace” (Giulio
Carlo Argan)
From 1635
it was rented to France who made it the seat of the French embassy
With the
extinction of the Farnese family in 1731 and the marriage of the niece of the
last heir, Elizabeth, with the King of Spain, Philip V of Bourbon, their assets
passed to their son Charles V of Bourbon and the palace became home of the
Minister of Naples
In 1861 it
hosted the King Francis II and his wife exiled from Naples thanks to a
restoration of the interior by Antonio Cipolla
(1822/74)
Since 1874
it was again rented to France for its embassy and in 1911 the rent changed into
sale for three million francs with right of redemption within 25 years
The right
was exercised in 1936 when it was bought by the Italian state and transferred
to France for 99 years with a symbolic fee of one lira per year
Italy has
the same treatment for reciprocity with its embassy in Paris, the Hôtel de La
Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, a dignified palace but truly laughable when
compared to the absolute masterpiece in the history of Western art that is
Palazzo Farnese
The
building is still, at least until 2035, the French Embassy
COURTYARD
“Two
sarcophagi” from the Tomb of Cecilia Metella
on the right and from the Baths
of Caracalla on the left
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