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
