The Palazzo Colonna () is a palatial block of buildings in central

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, at the base of the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

, and adjacent to the church of Santi Apostoli. It is built in part over the ruins of an old Roman

serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretism, syncretic Greeks in Egypt, Greco-Egyptian ancient Egyptian deities, deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis (deity), Apis in a humanized form that w ...

, and it has belonged to the prominent

Colonna family The House of Colonna is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It played a pivotal role in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin V, Martin V), 23 cardinals and many ot ...

for over twenty generations.

History

Palazzo Colonna - Plate 063 - Giuseppe Vasi

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

during his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinals Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

in 1417. Following his death, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the

Della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...

family. It returned to the Colonna family when

Marcantonio I Colonna Marcantonio I Colonna (1478 – Milan, 1522) was an Italian condottiero from the Colonna family. He was the son of Pietro Antonio, prince of Paliano, and started his military career at the age of 24. He became a renowned condottiero, since 1502 ...

married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

. The Colonna family's alliance to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

power likely protected the palace from looting during the

Sack of Rome (1527) The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of Rome on 6 May 1527 by the mutiny, mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the War of the League of Cognac. Charles V only intended to threaten military ...

. Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639), many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed, one facing Piazza SS. Apostoli and the other facing Via della Pilotta. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery) and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of the gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by

Nicola Michetti Nicola Michetti, also known as Niccolo or Niccolò (circa 7 December 1675 in Venice – 12 November 1758 in Rome) was an Italian architect, active in a late-Baroque architecture, Baroque style in mostly Rome, Italy and St Petersburg, Russia, St ...

, with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza SS. Apostoli), was constructed and recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

Colonna Art Gallery

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew, the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna. It includes works by Lorenzo Monaco,

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

, Palma the Elder, Salviati,

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italians, Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or r ...

Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...

(painting of '' The Beaneater''),

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

Francesco Albani Francesco Albani or Albano (17 March or 17 August 1578 – 4 October 1660) was an Italian Baroque painter of Albanian descent who was active in Bologna (1591–1600; 1609; 1610; 1618–1622), Rome (1600–1609; 1610–1617; 1623–1625), ...

, Muziano and

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli,

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Tie ...

, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the

battle of Lepanto (1571) The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf o ...

. An ''Apotheosis of Martin V'' was painted by

Benedetto Luti Benedetto Luti (17 November 1666 – 17 June 1724) was an Italian Baroque painter, draftsman, and pastelist. Early life Luti was born in Florence on 17 November 1666. He trained under Anton Domenico Gabbiani before moving to Rome in 1690. Career ...

. There are frescoed apartments completed after 1664 by

Crescenzio Onofri Crescenzio Onofri or Crescenzio d'Onofri (Rome, 23 May 1634 – Florence, 1712/1714) was an Italian landscape painter, draughtsman and engraver who worked in Rome and Florence. A presumed pupil of Gaspard Dughet he collaborated with many speci ...

, Gaspard Dughet and Pieter Mulier II (nicknamed "Cavalier Tempesta"). Other rooms were frescoed in the 18th century by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

and Pietro Bianchi. The older wing of the complex, now known as Princess Isabelle's apartments, but once housing Martin V's library and palace, contains frescoes by

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his small stature a ...

Antonio Tempesta Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Roman Baroque, Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. Much of his work depicts major ba ...

, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It also contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet,

Caspar Van Wittel Caspar van Wittel or Gaspar van Wittel (; born Jasper Adriaensz van Wittel; 1652 or 1653 – 13 September 1736), known in Italian as Gaspare Vanvitelli () or (), was a Dutch Republic, Dutch painter and draughtsman who had a long career in R ...

(Vanvitelli), and

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter and Draughtsmanship, draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Flemish ...

. Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavicini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

In popular culture

The ending scene from the 1953 classic film ''

Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...

'', starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, was shot at the gallery.

External links

Palazzo Colonna website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonna, Palazzo Art museums and galleries in Rome Collona Colonna family History of Rome Houses completed in the 13th century Palaces in Rome Private collections in Italy Rome R. II Trevi