Page 162 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

160  ROME AREA B Y AREA

as a papal summer residence.
Work began in 1573. Piazza
del Quirinale has buildi ngs on
three sides, while the fourth is
open, with a splendid view of
the city. Many great architects
worked on the palace before
it assumed its present form
in the 1730s. Domenico
Fontana designed the main
facade, Carlo Maderno the
huge chapel, and Bernini
the narrow wing on Via
del Quirinale.
After Rome became
Quirinal fountain and obelisk with Roman the capital city of the
statues of Castor and Pollux new united Italy in
1870, the palace
1 Castor and Pollux became the official
residence of the
Piazza del Quirinale. Map 5 B4. @ H,
40, 64, 70, 170, and many routes along king, then, in 1947,
Via del Tritone. of the president Canova’s monument to Pope Clement XIV in Santi Apostoli,
of the republic. with figures of Humility and Modesty
Castor and Pollux – the patrons The immaculately
of horsemanship – and their manicured palace gardens are marble rooms with prominent
prancing horses stand in open to the public only once a yellow columns, the Colonna
splendor in the Piazza del year, on Republic Day (June 2). family emblem (colonna
Quirinale. Over 18 ft (5.5 m) means column).
high, these statues are huge The ceiling frescoes celebrate
Roman copies of 5th-century 3 Palazzo Colonna Marcantonio Colonna’s victory
BC Greek originals. They once Via della Pilotta 17. Map 5 A4 & 12 F3. over the Turks at the Battle of
stood at the entrance to the Tel 06-678 4350. @ H, 40, 64, 70, 170, Lepanto (1571). On the walls are
nearby Baths of Constantine. and many routes to Piazza Venezia. 16th- to 18th-century paintings,
Pope Sixtus V had them restored Open 9am–1:15pm Sat only (guided including Annibale Carracci’s
and placed here in 1588. tour in English at noon) or by appt The Bean Eater (see p159). The
Formerly known as the “horse (call 06-679 4350 for a reservation). room of landscape paintings,
tamers,” they gave the square its & ^ = ∑ galleriacolonna.it many by Poussin’s brother-in-
familiar name of Monte Cavallo law Gaspare Dughet, reflects the
(horse hill). Pope Martin V Colonna (reigned 18th-century taste of Cardinal
The obelisk that stands 1417–31) began building the Girolamo Colonna. Beyond is a
between them was brought palazzo, but most of the room with a ceiling fresco of
here in 1786 from the structure dates from the 18th The Apotheosis of Martin V.
Mausoleum of Augustus. In century. The art gallery, built by The throne room has a chair
1818 the composition was Antonio del Grande between reserved for visiting popes
completed by the addition of 1654 and 1665, is the only part and a copy of Pisanello’s
a massive granite basin, once open to the public. The pictures portrait of Martin V. The gallery
a cattle trough in the Forum. are numbered but unlabeled, also offers a fine view of the
so pick up a guide on the way private palace garden, site of
2 Palazzo del in. Go up the stairs and through the ruined Temple of Serapis.
the antechamber leading to
Quirinale a series of three gleaming
Piazza del Quirinale. Map 5 B3. 4 Santi Apostoli
Tel 06-469 91. @ H, 40, 64, 70, 170, Piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Map 5 A4 &
and many routes along Via del Tritone. 12 F3. Tel 06-699 571. @ H, 40, 64, 70,
Open 9:30am–4pm Tue, Wed, Fri–Sun. 170, and many other routes to Piazza
Closed public hols & late Jun–mid- Venezia. Open 7am–noon & 4–7pm
Sep. & ∑ quirinale.it daily. 5
By the 1500s, the Vatican had a The original 6th-century church
reputation as an unhealthy on this site was rebuilt in the
location because of the high 15th century by popes Martin V
incidence of malaria, so Pope Colonna and Sixtus IV della
Gregory XIII chose this site on Palazzo del Quirinale, official residence of Rovere, whose oak-tree crest
the highest of Rome’s seven hills the president of Italy decorates the capitals of the

US_160-161_EW_Rome_US.indd 160 15/03/17 4:20 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm