  What's New! Detailed Sitemap All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore. Page revised in November 2010. |  Palazzo Massimi detto delle Colonne (Book 4) (Day 4) (View C7) (Rione Parione) In this page:
This 1754 etching by Giuseppe Vasi shows a section of Strada Papale, actually a series of streets from Ponte S. Angelo to il Gesù which were crossed by the solemn procession which accompanied the newly-elected pope
from S. Pietro to S. Giovanni in Laterano. Strangely enough, notwithstanding the importance of the street, Vasi showed few carriages and people around, as if he wanted to call the attention of the viewer to the unique Renaissance design of Palazzo Massimi alle Colonne.
After the 1870 annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy town planners felt the need to enlarge
this section of Strada Papale which was renamed Corso Vittorio (Emanuele II);
they did so by pulling down the buildings on the southern (left) side of the street, while those on the northern side where not impacted by the change,
although Palazzo Massimi ended by being too close to the usually congested traffic of Corso Vittorio; it can be properly seen only from the other
side of the street.
The palace was designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi in 1536 on the site of a previous building which was damaged during the 1527 Sack of Rome; the façade is curved, because the palace makes use of the foundations of an ancient odeon, a small Roman theatre adjoining Stadio di Domiziano. Peruzzi developed some very innovative solutions, which in some aspects show his admiration for the monuments of Ancient Rome (i.e. the Doric columns of the portico) and in other details (i.e. the small windows, which you can see in the image used as background for this page) anticipate the future Baroque predilection for curved lines. The façade of the palace was cleaned in 2002.
Today the family name is Massimo rather than Massimi; Prince Stefano Massimo is half British, as his mother was British actress Dawn Addams. The Massimo claimed to descend from Fabius Maximus Cunctator, a Roman commander during the Second Punic War; in turn the Fabii claimed to descend from Hercules, so the Massimo decorated the ceiling of their entrance hall with an infant Hercules strangling the snakes Hera sent to kill him.
Every year on March 16 the palace is open to the public in memory of a miracle by St. Philip Neri, who brought back to life a young member of the family for a short time.
Palazzo di Pirro is one of several adjoining buildings belonging to the Massimo; it was named after a gigantic statue of Mars, which
once stood in its courtyard. The statue was thought to represent Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus who in 282-275 BC fought
against the Romans. It is now at Musei Capitolini
(you may wish to see it - external link).
Palazzo Istoriato (decorated with figures) was not affected by the Sack of Rome; it was painted in 1523 by a pupil of Daniele da Volterra on the occasion of the marriage of a member of the Massimo family; the scenes depict episodes of the Old and of the New Testament.
The church was entirely rebuilt in 1680 by Giovanni Antonio De Rossi, but the façade was added in 1805 by Giuseppe Valadier at the expense of the Torlonia family; the interior has a fine illusionistic ceiling (more on this topic) by Filippo Gherardi. St. Pantaleon was a fourth century martyr who was the physician to Emperor Galerius.
Palazzo Braschi
In 1790 Pope Pius VI Braschi bought Palazzo Santobono for his family; the palace was built in the XVth century by the Orsini;
in the following century Antonio da Sangallo designed a beautiful loggia on the side towards Piazza Navona; at a later time it was acquired by the Caracciolo di Santobono, a Neapolitan family.
Farnesina ai Baullari means (small) Farnese palace at the Baullari (trunk makers) street, but the reference
to the Farnese is wrong as the building belonged to Monsignor Thomas le Roy, a Breton prelate, who added the fleurs-de-lis of the French royal family to
his heraldic symbols (in 1532 the Duchy of Brittany was absorbed into the Kingdom of France).
The presence of these flowers in the decoration of the palace led to assuming it belonged to the Farnese, whose heraldic
symbols were the fleurs-de-lis too (you may wish to see them in nearby Palazzo Farnese); it was built in 1522 and there is still uncertainty about the architects who designed
it: for some time it was attributed to Michelangelo, but today it is thought to be a work either by Antonio da Sangallo or
by Baldassarre Peruzzi. Palazzi di Girolamo e di
Ceccolo Pichi
The etching by Vasi shows to the left a large palace which was modified and reduced in size by the opening of Corso Vittorio: by walking in a rear alley one can see its remaining original parts which were built towards the end of the XVth century. Picchio in Italian means woodpecker and this explains why woodpeckers decorate the old windows and a portal (now inside the modern part of the building).
Ceccolo Pichi, father of Girolamo, had a less imposing house in the square behind the palace of his son. The building was modified in the XIXth century, but the portal retains a fine Renaissance relief. Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:
Next plate in Book 4: Palazzo Marescotti You have completed Day 4 itinerary! Move to Day 5. Next step in your tour of Rione Parione: Palazzo della Cancelleria |
