The Palazzo Falconieri is a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

formed in the seventeenth century as a result of remodelling by the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

architect

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

. It is the home of the Hungarian Academy Rome (which is the

office of the

Balassi Institute The Balassi Institute ( hu, Balassi Intézet) is a worldwide non-profit cultural organization funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (''Külügyminisztérium'') of Hungary. The institute spreads and promotes Hungarian language and culture abro ...

), since its foundation in 1927. It is located between Via Giulia and Lungotevere, with entrances to both; it is near Palazzo Farnese and a few houses down and across Via Giulia from the church of in the Rione of

Regola Regola is the 7th ''rione'' of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from ''Arenula'' (the name is recognizable in the modern ''Via Arenula''), which was the name of the soft sand (''rena'' ...

. From 1814, it was occupied by cardinal

Joseph Fesch Joseph Fesch, Prince of France (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of his nephew, he became Archbishop ...

, Napoleon's uncle. In 1638,

Orazio Falconieri 300 px, The Villa Falconieri in Frascati; renovations were commissioned by Orazio Falconieri Orazio Falconieri (died 1664) was an Italian nobleman from Florence; he was the owner of the Villa Falconieri. His heraldic symbol was a falcon. Fami ...

purchased a palace on the

Via Giulia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

which had a small courtyard facing the

River Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

. He bought an adjacent property in 1645 and in 1646 and appointed the architect

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

to remodel and refurbish the two. Some of Borromini’s work was lost in the nineteenth century development of

Lungotevere Lungotevere (Italian for ''Tiber Waterfront'') is an alley or boulevard running along the river Tiber within the city of Rome. The building of the Lungoteveres required the demolition of the former edifices along the river banks and the constru ...

, the embankment and road between the Tiber and the buildings which overlook it, but parts remain. The surviving parts of Borromini’s work include the façade to the Via Giulia, the

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

overlooking the Tiber and the decorative work in several rooms.''Borromini''
by Anthony Blunt (

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1979) On the façade, the number of bays was increased from seven to eleven and at either end, tall inverted fluted pilasters were placed terminating in falcons heads, a reference to the family name, that each look back at the façade. Overlooking the Tiber, Borromini added a Belvedere, a three bay loggia with Serliana openings, that stands above the surrounding buildings. On the interior, some of the rooms are ornamented with stucco work designed by Borromini, with the frequent use of heraldic devices and symbolic motifs

References

External links

Interactive Nolli Map Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falconieri, Palazzo Houses completed in 1646 Palaces in Rome Rome R. VII Regola Farnese residences Francesco Borromini buildings