__NOTOC__ Palazzo Torlonia (also known as the Palazzo Giraud, Giraud-Torlonia or Castellesi) is a 16th-century

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

town house in

Via della Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome, Italy. Roughly in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. The road was constru ...

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. Built for Cardinal Adriano Castellesi da Corneto from 1496, the architect was

Andrea Bregno Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno (1418–1506) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way. Early life He was born in Oste ...

, although others have attributed the design to

Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...

. The style of architecture was influenced by that of the papal chancery, the

Palazzo della Cancelleria The Palazzo della Cancelleria (Palace of the Chancellery, referring to the former Apostolic Chancery of the Pope) is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rione ...

, one of Rome's first

palaces, which had been completed a few years earlier. The palazzo's arcaded inner courtyard has been attributed to

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

. In 1504, before its completion, the Cardinal (who had fallen from papal favor) presented the palazzo to King Henry VII of England. The English king Henry VIII later handed it to

Lorenzo Campeggio Lorenzo Campeggio (7 November 1474 – 19 July 1539) was an Italian cardinal and politician. He was the last cardinal protector of England. Life Campeggio was born in Milan, the eldest of five sons. In 1500, he took his doctorate in cano ...

, England's last Cardinal Protector. He lived in the unfinished palazzo from 1519 to 1524. Following England's split from the Church of Rome, it remained in possession of the Campeggio family until 1609.

From 1609 until 1635, it was owned by the

Borghese family The House of Borghese is a princely family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the ''commune''. During the 16th century, ...

. In 1760, it was purchased by the French Giraud banking family. In 1820, it was purchased by the

Torlonia family 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first influ ...

, whose name it retains along with the family's coat of arms above its great portal.Champ, p. 58 Today, the palace faces the wide boulevard named Via della Conciliazione, however, this is the result of 20th century monumental Fascist concept intended to provide an imposing approach to

St Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

. Originally, the palazzo formed the north side of a small square, the Piazza Scossacavalli, and is today (with the

Palazzo dei Penitenzieri Palazzo Della Rovere is a palace in Rome, Italy, facing Via della Conciliazione. It is also known as Palazzo dei Penitenzieri. History The construction of the palace was started in 1480 by cardinal Domenico della Rovere, a relative of Pope Sixtu ...

) one of the two surviving buildings of it, and the only historic palace in Borgo which has remained untouched during the works for the construction of Via della Conciliazione. Palazzo Torlonia, together with the Church of

Santa Maria in Transpontina The Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo in Traspontina (Saint Mary of Carmel Across the Bridge) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, run by the Carmelites. The bridge referred to is the Ponte Sant'Angelo. The church is on the Via della Conci ...

and Palazzo Latmiral (a 19th-century building placed between them), are out of axis with the new avenue, their alignment coinciding with that of the destroyed '' Borgo Nuovo'' road. , the palazzo remains the property of the Torlonia family.

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External links

Palazzo Castellesi Giraud Torlonia
Retrieved 28 April 2010.

Retrieved 28 April 2010.

Retrieved 28 April 2010 (Italian) {{coord, 41, 54, 09.36, N, 12, 27, 39.60, E, region:IT_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1496 Houses completed in the 15th century

Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first infl ...

Renaissance architecture in Rome

See also

Notes

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External links