The Palazzo Mancini is a

palazzo 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 ...

in Rome, Italy.Guerci, M. (2011) ''Palazzo Mancini''. Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Rome, 320 pp. From 1737 to 1793 it was the second home of the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

. It is located on

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

, about a block north of

Piazza Venezia Piazza Venezia () is a central hub of Rome, Italy, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via del Corso. It takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia, built by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo (la ...

History

In 1634 Lorenzo Mancini, brother of cardinal

Francesco Maria Mancini Francesco Maria Mancini (20 October 1606, Rome – 1672) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Mancini family. He was made a cardinal by Pope Alexander VII, in reward for contributing to Alexander's election as pope. Life He ...

, married Geronima Mazzarino, sister of

cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

. For their wedding celebrations, the old residence of the Mancini family was enlarged by the acquisition of four adjoining houses and a new building designed by the architect

Carlo Rainaldi Carlo Rainaldi (4 May 1611 – 8 February 1691) was an Italian architect of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Rome, Rainaldi was one of the leading architects of 17th century Rome, known for a certain grandeur in his designs. He worked at f ...

. The work was begun by Lorenzo and completed by Filippo Mancini, duke of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, between 1687 and 1689. The building features a facade with "bugne lisce", or 'fishbone'-style

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

, with the central door surmounted by a rich balcony supported by brackets decorated from Cupids. Inside are preserved a painted frieze in the "salone di rappresentanza" or state room (the "Salone Rosso") and fragments of seventeenth-century friezes in other rooms with "Stories of David and Jacob". Another room houses a fresco collection of "

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

" of Rome by

Bartolomeo Pinelli Bartolomeo Pinelli (November 20, 1781 – April 1, 1835) was an Italian illustrator and engraver. Life Pinelli was born and died in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, the son of an artisan who modeled religious statues. Pinelli was edu ...

. By order of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, the Palazzo was acquired for France in 1725 and 22 years later it became the new residence of the French Academy in Rome, previously housed at the Palazzo Capranica. One second floor room is still frescoed with scenes copied from the

Raphael Rooms The four Raphael Rooms ( it, Stanze di Raffaello) form a suite of reception rooms in the Apostolic Palace, now part of the Vatican Museums, in Vatican City. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with ...

at the

Vatican Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...

, produced by the artists accommodated by the Palazzo during its time as the academy. After the anti-French riots of 1793 and the assassination of Bassville, the academy left the palace. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

the building became the

French Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of France, excluding honorary consulates. France's permanent representation abroad began in the reign of Francis I, when in 1522 he sent a delegation to the Swiss. Despite its reduced presence following dec ...

to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. In 1798 the academy returned to the Palazzo, but after the French defeat by

Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Râmnicu Sărat, Rymnik, C ...

in 1799 the building was occupied and pillaged. In 1803 the academy was moved to the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

and in 1818 the Palazzo was bought by

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

, who ten years' later ceded it to Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, the widow of

Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (Vittorio Emanuele; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia (1802–1821). Biography Victor Emmanuel was the second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda o ...

. It passed to her daughter

Maria Christina of Savoy Maria Cristina of Savoy (Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia; 14 November 1812 – 21 January 1836) was the first Queen consort of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. She died as a result of childbirth. She is venerated in the Catholic ...

and, when Maria Christina became

queen of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

, it passed in 1831 to the Bourbons of Naples and in 1853 to Scipion Salviati. In 1919 the

Banco di Sicilia Banco di Sicilia was an Italian bank based in Palermo, Sicily. It was a subsidiary of UniCredit but absorbed into the parent company in 2010. History It was founded as ''Banco Regio dei Reali Domini al di là del Faro'' in 1849 and was renamed in ...

acquired it.

References

*''This page is a translation of its French and Italian equivalents.''

External links

Interactive Nolli Map Website

History

References

External links

See also