The Palazzo Sciarra is a palace built by a branch of the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

, with the main facade located on the Via del Corso #239 in Rione Colonna in central Rome. It presently houses the headquarters of Fondazione Roma.

History

By the 17th century, the Sciarra branch of the Colonna family owned two buildings at the site. The architect

Flaminio Ponzio Flaminio Ponzio (1560–1613) was an Italian architect during the late-Renaissance or so-called Mannerist period, serving in Rome as the architect for Pope Paul V. Ponzio was born in Viggiù near Varese, and he died in Rome. After juvenile ...

was engaged in 1610 to fuse the buildings together. The work was continued in 1641 by

Orazio Torrioni Orazio is a male given name of Italian origin, derived from the Latin name ( ''nomen'') Horatius, from the Roman gens (clan) Horatia. People so named include: *Orazio Alfani (c. 1510–1583), Italian painter * Orazio Antinori (1811–1882), Ital ...

, who completed the main facade. In the 18th-century, under the patronage of Cardinal Prospero Colonna, the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, refurbished the palace. The frescoed rooms in the palace were completed in this refurbishment. Further additions to the palace occurred in the late 19th-century under

Francesco Settimi Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), seve ...

. The palace was altered between 1871 and 1898, when Prince

Maffeo Sciarra Maffeo is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Maffeo Barberini (1568–1644), reigned as Pope Urban VIII from 1623 to his death in 1644 * Maffeo Barberini (1631–1685), Italian nobleman of the Barberini, ...

commissioned

Giulio de Angelis Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian ...

to shorten the wing to widen Via Minghetti and to build the

Quirino theater The Teatro Quirino is an opera house in Rome opened in 1871. It hosted the premiere of Pietro Mascagni's operetta '' Sì''. Its historical name has been joined by the recognition for one of the most acclaimed Italian theatrical actors of the tw ...

and the Sciarra Gallery. The Sciarra Gallery is a glass-domed passage way through an internal courtyard, notable for the frescoed walls of the courtyard. It connects via Marco Minghetti, vicolo Sciarra and piazza dell’Oratorio (Oratorio square). The upper floors' frescoes were painted in Liberty style by Giuseppe Cellini, and depict everyday scenes of the ''virtues of women'', including prudity, sobriety, strength, humility, prudence, patience, goodness, faith, lovable-ness, generous, and lady-like.Roma WWW
description of gallery.

References

{{Authority control

Sciarra Sciarra is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Girolamo Colonna di Sciarra (1708–1763), Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal of the noble Colonna di Sciarra family *Prospero Colonna di Sciarra (1707–1765), Italian Roman C ...

Renaissance architecture in Rome Rome R. IX Pigna