The Palazzo Falconieri is a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

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 ...

formed in the seventeenth century as a result of remodelling by the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architect

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Switzerland, Swiss canton of Ticino

. It is the home of the Hungarian Academy Rome (which is the

office of the Balassi Institute), since its foundation in 1927. It is located between Via Giulia and Lungotevere, with entrances to both; it is near Palazzo Farnese and a few houses down and across Via Giulia from the church of in the Rione of

Regola Regola is the 7th of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from (the name is recognizable in the modern ''Via Arenula''), which was the name of the soft sand ( in Italian) that the river T ...

. From 1814, it was occupied by cardinal

Joseph Fesch Joseph Cardinal Fesch, Prince of the Empire (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of h ...

, Napoleon's uncle. In 1638,

Orazio Falconieri image:Falconieri front.jpg, 300 px, The Villa Falconieri in Frascati; renovations were commissioned by Orazio Falconieri Orazio Falconieri (died 1664) was an Nobility of Italy, Italian nobleman from Florence; he was the owner of the Villa Falconi ...

purchased a palace on the

Via Giulia The Via Giulia is a street of historical and architectural importance in Rome, Italy, which runs along the left (east) bank of the Tiber from ''Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti'', near Ponte Sisto, to ''Piazza dell'Oro''. It is about 1 kilometre lon ...

which had a small courtyard facing the

River Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

. He bought an adjacent property in 1645 and in 1646 and appointed the architect

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Switzerland, Swiss canton of Ticino

to remodel and refurbish the two. Some of Borromini’s work was lost in the nineteenth century development of

Lungotevere Lungotevere (Italian for ''Tiber Waterfront'') is an alley or boulevard running along the river Tiber within the city of Rome. The building of the Lungoteveres required the demolition of the former edifices along the river banks and the constru ...

, the embankment and road between the Tiber and the buildings which overlook it, but parts remain. The surviving parts of Borromini’s work include the façade to the Via Giulia, the

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

overlooking the Tiber and the decorative work in several rooms.''Borromini''
by Anthony Blunt (

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1979) On the façade, the number of bays was increased from seven to eleven and at either end, tall inverted fluted pilasters were placed terminating in falcons heads, a reference to the family name, that each look back at the façade. Overlooking the Tiber, Borromini added a Belvedere, a three bay loggia with Serliana openings, that stands above the surrounding buildings. On the interior, some of the rooms are ornamented with stucco work designed by Borromini, with the frequent use of heraldic devices and symbolic motifs.

References

External links

Interactive Nolli Map Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falconieri, Palazzo Houses completed in 1646 Palaces in Rome Rome R. VII Regola Farnese residences Francesco Borromini buildings