Palazzo Valentini
Encyclopedia
Palazzo Valentini is a palazzo
in central Rome
, Italy
, not far from Piazza Venezia
. Since 1873 it has been the base of the provincial
and prefectural administration of Rome.
Michele Bonelli
, nephew of pope Pius V
, who, in 1585, acquired a pre-existing palazzo from Giacomo Boncompagni
at the extremity of what was then piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Today the palazzo is separated from that piazza by via Quattro Novembre, opened later to connect the new via Nazionale with piazza Venezia. The cardinal was also the owner of a large part of the area which extended, behind the palazzo, above the ruins of the imperial fora of Trajan and Augustus
, known by the name "Pantano" due to its being subject to impaludamenti. Over the same years the district on the ruins of the imperial fora was subjected to a general development of the land and to a systematic urbanisation, with the creation of the "quartiere Alessandrino" in in the cardinal's honour (he was nicknamed "cardinale alessandrino" after his origins in a village in the province of Alessandria
). The quarter was destroyed in the 1920s and 1930s to open via dei Fori Imperiali
.
The trapezoidal plan of the palazzo was designed by Domenico Paganelli. Thanks to substantial funds ploughed into the project by the cardinal, the palazzo was quickly completed and the cardinal moved in 3 years after building started. In the 17th century the building was then subject to a series of major renovations and expansions, carried out on behalf of cardinals Carlo Bonelli and Michele Ferdinando Bonelli. The palazzo was partially demolished and rebuilt by Francesco Peparelli
for its new owner, cardinal Renato Imperiali, who organised the important family library (the "Imperiali") of around 24,000 volumes.
At the start of the 18th century, the palazzo was leased to several prominent personalities, including marchese Francesco Maria Ruspoli
from 1705 to 1713, who made it the site for a private theatre and hosted illustrious musicians of the time such as Handel
, Alessandro Scarlatti
and Arcangelo Corelli
. The entire building was then acquired in 1752 by cardinal Giuseppe Spinelli
, who realised a new decorative scheme for the first floor and systematised the library (meant by him for public use, and frequented by Johann Joachim Winckelmann
) on the ground floor.
In 1827 the Prussian banker and consul general Vincenzo Valentini acquired the palazzo, in which he settled and to which he gave his name. The palazzo was later expanded and rebuilt at great expense, and its new owner used it to house his own collection of paintings as well as increasing the palazzo's own substantial library and archaeological collection. Completion of the works at the back of the palazzo, overlooking the column of Trajan, was entrusted to the architects Filippo Navone and Giovanni Battista Benedetti. Between 1861 and 1865 Vincenzo's son Gioacchino Valentini commissioned two further expansions on the left side, along via di Sant'Eufemia, designed by the architect Luigi Gabet. The provincial deputation of Rome acquired the palazzo as their base in 1873, commissioning the architect Gabet to complete the right side on via de’ Fornari, at the top of vicolo di San Bernardo.
columns. Above it is a large balustraded balcony. The great cornice, under which are small windows divided by three mensoloni, is surrounded by a balustrade. The courtyard is a portico in two orders and with 5 arcades on the short sides and 9 along the long sides, divided by Doric pilasters and rich in ancient statues.
The Palazzo's art treasures include the statue of Ulysses by Ugo Attardi
, as well as works depicting "Aeneas and Anchises" and "Europa", made by Sandro Chia
to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the provincial administration of Rome, now located at the entrance.
After a major restoration the excavations under Palazzo Valentini have now opened to the public on a permanent basis. A small baths complex dating from the second century AD was discovered seven metres below street level under the basement of the building. It is believed to be part of a nearby residential scheme found over 100 years ago prior to the 1907 construction of Palazzo delle Assicurazioni in Piazza Venezia.
The monumental temple of the deified Trajan
was traditionally thought to have been on the same site as this palazzo, but no trace of it has been found here.
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
in central Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, not far from Piazza Venezia
Piazza Venezia
The Piazza Venezia is a piazza in central Rome, Italy. It takes its name from Cardinal Venezia who built the adjacent Palazzo Venezia, the former embassy of the city of the Republic of Venice....
. Since 1873 it has been the base of the provincial
Province of Rome
The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...
and prefectural administration of Rome.
History
The palazzo was first built by cardinalCardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Michele Bonelli
Michele Bonelli
Carlo Michele Bonelli, Cardinal Alessandrino was an Italian senior papal diplomat with a distinguished career that spanned two decades from 1571.-Biography:...
, nephew of pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
, who, in 1585, acquired a pre-existing palazzo from Giacomo Boncompagni
Giacomo Boncompagni
Giacomo Boncompagni was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII . He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and Marquess of Vignola.A member of the Boncompagni family, he was a patron of arts and culture...
at the extremity of what was then piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Today the palazzo is separated from that piazza by via Quattro Novembre, opened later to connect the new via Nazionale with piazza Venezia. The cardinal was also the owner of a large part of the area which extended, behind the palazzo, above the ruins of the imperial fora of Trajan and Augustus
Forum of Augustus
The Forum of Augustus is one of the Imperial forums of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus. It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor.-History:The triumvir Octavian vowed to build a temple honoring Mars, the Roman God of War, during the battle of Philippi in 42 BC...
, known by the name "Pantano" due to its being subject to impaludamenti. Over the same years the district on the ruins of the imperial fora was subjected to a general development of the land and to a systematic urbanisation, with the creation of the "quartiere Alessandrino" in in the cardinal's honour (he was nicknamed "cardinale alessandrino" after his origins in a village in the province of Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
). The quarter was destroyed in the 1920s and 1930s to open via dei Fori Imperiali
Via dei Fori Imperiali
The Via dei Fori Imperiali is a road in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, that runs in a straight line from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum....
.
The trapezoidal plan of the palazzo was designed by Domenico Paganelli. Thanks to substantial funds ploughed into the project by the cardinal, the palazzo was quickly completed and the cardinal moved in 3 years after building started. In the 17th century the building was then subject to a series of major renovations and expansions, carried out on behalf of cardinals Carlo Bonelli and Michele Ferdinando Bonelli. The palazzo was partially demolished and rebuilt by Francesco Peparelli
Francesco Peparelli
Francesco Peparelli was an Italian architect. He designed the Palazzo Valentini and contributed to the design of Santa Maria in Traspontina.-Works:*Convent and monastery of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio*Hospice of San Girolamo della Carità...
for its new owner, cardinal Renato Imperiali, who organised the important family library (the "Imperiali") of around 24,000 volumes.
At the start of the 18th century, the palazzo was leased to several prominent personalities, including marchese Francesco Maria Ruspoli
Ruspoli
The Ruspoli are an old and noble Italian family .The origins of the family can be traced back to the Ruspolis of Florence in the 13th Century and through the family's claimed direct descent from Marius Scotus in the 8th Century and the Marescottis of Bologna...
from 1705 to 1713, who made it the site for a private theatre and hosted illustrious musicians of the time such as Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
and Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...
. The entire building was then acquired in 1752 by cardinal Giuseppe Spinelli
Giuseppe Spinelli
Giuseppe Spinelli was an Italian Cardinal. He was a prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples....
, who realised a new decorative scheme for the first floor and systematised the library (meant by him for public use, and frequented by Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...
) on the ground floor.
In 1827 the Prussian banker and consul general Vincenzo Valentini acquired the palazzo, in which he settled and to which he gave his name. The palazzo was later expanded and rebuilt at great expense, and its new owner used it to house his own collection of paintings as well as increasing the palazzo's own substantial library and archaeological collection. Completion of the works at the back of the palazzo, overlooking the column of Trajan, was entrusted to the architects Filippo Navone and Giovanni Battista Benedetti. Between 1861 and 1865 Vincenzo's son Gioacchino Valentini commissioned two further expansions on the left side, along via di Sant'Eufemia, designed by the architect Luigi Gabet. The provincial deputation of Rome acquired the palazzo as their base in 1873, commissioning the architect Gabet to complete the right side on via de’ Fornari, at the top of vicolo di San Bernardo.
Description
The present structure of the palazzo is characterised by its grand portal, pierced by three windows on each sides, with architraves and lintels and bounded by two travertineTravertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
columns. Above it is a large balustraded balcony. The great cornice, under which are small windows divided by three mensoloni, is surrounded by a balustrade. The courtyard is a portico in two orders and with 5 arcades on the short sides and 9 along the long sides, divided by Doric pilasters and rich in ancient statues.
The Palazzo's art treasures include the statue of Ulysses by Ugo Attardi
Ugo Attardi
Ugo Attardi was an Italian painter, sculptor and writer. His statue of Ulysses lies in Battery Park-Source:...
, as well as works depicting "Aeneas and Anchises" and "Europa", made by Sandro Chia
Sandro Chia
Sandro Chia is an Italian painter and sculptor.A native of Florence, he was a key member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, along with fellow countrymen Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, and Enzo Cucchi....
to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the provincial administration of Rome, now located at the entrance.
After a major restoration the excavations under Palazzo Valentini have now opened to the public on a permanent basis. A small baths complex dating from the second century AD was discovered seven metres below street level under the basement of the building. It is believed to be part of a nearby residential scheme found over 100 years ago prior to the 1907 construction of Palazzo delle Assicurazioni in Piazza Venezia.
Archaeological remains
Recent excavations in the palazzo's basement have found, around 7m below street level, a small baths complex, probably part of an adjacent residential complex already found in 1902 during surveys for the construction of Palazzo delle Assicurazioni di Venezia.The monumental temple of the deified Trajan
Temple of Trajan
The Temple of Trajan was a Roman temple built in the Forum of Trajan in the 2nd century by Trajan's adoptive son and successor Hadrian between 125 and 138. It was dedicated to the emperor Trajan and his wife Plotina after his deification by the Roman Senate...
was traditionally thought to have been on the same site as this palazzo, but no trace of it has been found here.