The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as…
1583 CE
The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply the Quirinale), which rises on the homonymous hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome and one of the most important palaces of Rome, for its historical, political and artistic features, is built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence.
The location, far away from the humidity and stench coming from the river Tiber and the unhealthy conditions of the Lateran, is one of the most suitable places in Rome.
On the site there is already a small villa owned by the Carafa family and rented to Luigi d'Este.
The pope had commissioned the architect Ottaviano Mascherino to build a palace with porticoed parallel wings and an internal court; both Carlo Maderno and Domenico Fontana work on additions.
The project is not fully executed, due to the death of the pope in 1585 but remans evident in the north part of the court, especially in the double loggia facade, topped by the panoramic Torre dei venti (tower of the winds) or Torrino.
The Quirinale is today the current official residence of the President of the Italian Republic.