Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica (original) (raw)

Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica (Vasi at work in the Grand View of Rome)

Links to this page can be found in Book 4, Map C2, Day 7, View D6, Rione Parione and Rione Regola.

The page covers: [The plate by Giuseppe Vasi](#The Plate) Today's view [Palazzo della Cancelleria](#Palazzo della Cancelleria) S. Lorenzo in Damaso Oratorio delle Cinque Piaghe Via del Pellegrino and Tabernacolo di S. Margherita [Arco degli Acetari](#Arco degli Acetari) Palazzo Montoro

#### The Plate (No. 74)

In 1754, when Giuseppe Vasi published this etching, new palaces were built in Late Baroque style, yet Palazzo della Cancelleria was not regarded as being old-fashioned, but rather a masterpiece which still deserved admiration for having marked a breakthrough in civil architecture. Vasi attributed it to Donato Bramante, the architect who introduced the Renaissance style to Rome, but art historians discard this opinion because Bramante came to Rome in 1499, when the design of Palazzo della Cancelleria was already established. The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) SS. Lorenzo e Damaso (S. Lorenzo in Damaso); 2) Vicolo de Leutari (lute makers) leading to [Piazza di Pasquino](Vasi26a.htm#The Plate); 3) Strada degli Argentieri (silversmiths), usually called Via del Pellegrino (pilgrim); 4) Palazzetto del Marchese Galli. The small map shows also: 5) Palazzo della Cancelleria; 6) Oratorio delle Cinque Piaghe; 7) Tabernacolo di S. Margherita; 8) Arco degli Acetari; 9) Painted houses in Via del Pellegrino; 10) Palazzo Montoro. The dotted line in the small map delineates the border between Rione Regola (left) and Rione Parione (right).

#### Today

## The view in May 2020

The buildings at the end of the square, including Palazzetto Galli, were demolished in the 1880s to open Corso Vittorio Emanuele; Jacopo Galli was an advisor to Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the founder of Palazzo della Cancelleria. Palazzo della Cancelleria shows some very minor changes; coats of arms of Pope Sixtus IV and Pope Julius II, respectively uncle and cousin of Cardinal Riario were placed at the corners of the building in the 1940s; during the [annexation of Rome by the French Empire](Storia28.html#French Empire), the palace housed the imperial tribunals and a large inscription with the words _Corte Imperiale_was placed above the central balcony.

#### Palazzo della Cancelleria

## Fa�ade of the palace which includes the church which is mentioned in the 1495 long inscription

Raffaele Riario was appointed cardinal in 1477 at the age of seventeen and a few years later he became titular cardinal of S. Lorenzo in Damaso; he went to live in the cardinal's residence near the church, but he soon decided to rebuild the church and the palace. According to tradition he financed their construction with his dice winnings and he won an enormous amount of money from Franceschetto Cybo, son of Pope Innocent VIII.

## (left) Detail of the corner with Via del Pellegrino with the initial part of the 1495 inscription celebrating the foundation of the palace; (right) coat of arms of Cardinal Raffaele Riario, a detail of which is shown in the image used as background for this page

By 1495 the eastern side of the palace from Via del Pellegrino to the entrance was completed. It is said that the travertine coating of the fa�ade was made with blocks fallen from Colosseo; the design of Palazzo della Cancelleria influenced that of Palazzo Giraud which was built a few years later.

## Balcony on Via del Pellegrino with the motto "Hoc opus sic perpetuo" - this work will stay forever (school of Andrea Bregno)

The decoration of Palazzo della Cancelleria is mainly based on reliefs depicting rosa canina, a spontaneous species of rose with five petals which was the heraldic symbol of the Riario. The rose was also one of the heraldic symbols of the Orsini and it can be seen in many of their former fiefdoms (e.g. Bracciano and Bomarzo). The quality of the reliefs is very high; if not personally executed by Andrea Bregno, they are the work of one of his best assistants. The completion of Palazzo della Cancelleria was delayed because Cardinal Riario preferred to leave Rome during the final years of the pontificate of Pope Alexander VI.

## (left) Courtyard which perhaps was designed by Bramante as it was built after Cardinal Riario returned to Rome; the columns were most likely found at nearby [Teatro di Pompeo](Vasi75.htm#Teatro di Pompeo); (right) details of its decoration which are based on the heraldic symbol of the Cardinal; you may wish to see other images of it in the historical section or the cloister Bramante designed at S. Maria della Pace

In 1517 Cardinal Riario was charged with being involved in a plot to kill Pope Leo X and he was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo; he was eventually acquitted, but he had to relinquish his palace; he went to live to Naples where he died in 1521. You may wish to see him wearing a blue robe behind his uncle in a detail of a painting by Melozzo da Forl� (it opens in another window). He built also a [villa outside Porta Settimiana](Vasi72.htm#Palazzo Corsini) which was eventually bought and enlarged by the Corsini.

## 1589 central portal and balcony designed by Domenico Fontana and showing the heraldic symbols of [Pope Sixtus V](Storia23.html#Sixtus V) (you may wish to see it in a 1909 watercolour by Yoshio Markino)

This Pallace was built of the Stones of the Coliseo by Cardinal Riario. The chief thing I saw in it was the Gallery of Pictures, of Cardinal (Francesco) Barberini who being Vice-Chancellor, liveth always in this Pallace to exercise his Charge the better. Richard Lassels' The Voyage of Italy, or a Compleat Journey through Italy in ca 1668 While a section of the palace continued to be used as residence of the titular cardinals of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, its major part housed Cancelleria Apostolica, the body in charge of issuing papal bulls which was previously in [Palazzo Sforza Cesarini](Vasi109.htm#Palazzo Sforza Cesarini). Because of its use for administrative purposes it was neglected by most foreign travellers, notwithstanding its importance from an architectural viewpoint. The palace is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See. A relief portraying Emperor Vespasian which was found in 1939 during maintenance works was moved to Musei Vaticani.

#### S. Lorenzo in Damaso

## (left) Entrance (you may wish to see it in a 1588 Guide to Rome); (centre-1) bronze relief on the door portraying St. Lawrence carrying the symbol of his martyrdom; (centre-2) coat of arms with the symbol of S. Lorenzo in Damaso on a house near [Piazza Farnese](Vasi73.htm#The Plate); (right) coats of arms of Cardinal Riario inside the church

The name of the church suggests that Damaso is a location, while it is the name of Pope Damasus I (366-384), the founder of the church. S. Lorenzo in Damaso was entirely rebuilt by Cardinal Riario inside the northern wing of the palace; a small portal designed by il Vignola in the second half of the XVIth century is its only external evidence. Unlike other churches of Rome (S. Lorenzo in Fonte, S. Lorenzo in Panisperna and S. Lorenzo fuori le mura) it is not associated with events of the life of St. Lawrence.

## (left) Cappella del Sacramento (XVIIth century) with a sacred image from [S. Maria di Grottapinta](Vasi75.htm#S. Maria di Grottapinta); (right) main nave and apse after the XIXth century redesign of the church

The titular cardinals of S. Lorenzo in Damaso took care of its decoration, but the church suffered a lot from being used as a stable by French troops in 1799 and perhaps even more by a radical restoration (1868-1882) by Virginio Vespignani, the favourite architect of [Pope Pius IX](Storia29.html#Pius IX). Only some of the side chapels were not touched by it. The gravestones on the floor were moved to the side walls of the building.

## (left to right) 1) XVth century gravestone of a noble woman; 2) gravestone of Pyrrhino Citrario, a member of the Papal court in the early XVIth century; 3) monument to Giovanni Pacini, physician of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese by Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1567); 4) monument to George Conn by Lorenzo Ottoni (portrait) and Giovanni Giorgetti (angel) (1678); Conn was a Scottish theologian from Aberdeen, sent by [Pope Urban VIII](Storia24.html#Urban VIII) to London to advise Queen Mary Henrietta, the Catholic wife of King Charles I (you may wish to see more monuments portraying the dead in a medallion)

The selection of gravestones and small funerary monuments shown above is a quick summary of how this type of work of art evolved during the centuries. In addition the church contains an interesting monument to Alessandro Valtrini by Gian Lorenzo Bernini which is placed very near the entrance and is not very welcoming.

#### Oratorio delle Cinque Piaghe

## (left) Via dei Baullari leading to Farnesina ai Baullari; (right) detail of the fa�ade

Many of the streets near Palazzo della Cancelleria are named after trades; Vasi mentioned in his plate lute makers and silversmiths; Via dei Baullari was the street of the trunk makers. In this street a brotherhood which used to meet in S. Lorenzo in Damaso built a small oratory the fa�ade of which was modified in the XIXth century; the inscription above the entrance says: ARCHISOD. SSMI. SACRAM. ET V VULNERUM D. N. I. C. Archbrotherhood of the Holy Sacrament and of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ (five piercing wounds Jesus suffered during the Crucifixion).

#### Via del Pellegrino

## (left) Via del Pellegrino; (centre/right) Tabernacolo di S. Margherita by Francesco Moderati

Via del Pellegrino was enlarged in 1497 by Pope Alexander VI in the frame of various initiatives meant to develop Campo dei Fiori; although it was used by pilgrims (It. pellegrini) on their way to Ponte S. Angelo, the name of the street probably derives from that of an inn. Via del Pellegrino retains its Renaissance appearance except for an XVIIIth century elaborate tabernacle built by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni who lived in Palazzo della Cancelleria; he was a nephew of [Pope Alexander VIII](Storia25.html#Alexander VIII) and the last cardinale nepote, i.e. the nephew of the pope who acted as a sort of Prime Minister; this practice was discontinued by [Pope Innocent XII](Storia26.html#Innocent XII); the double-headed eagles are a heraldic symbol of the Ottoboni. St. Philip Neri was portrayed in the small medallion. Via del Pellegrino ends very near Oratorio dei Filippini.

## Renaissance graffito paintings in Via del Pellegrino 64-67: (left) scenes of Roman history attributed to Daniele da Volterra, they recall those at [Palazzo Istoriato](Vasi76.htm#The Rear of the Palace) and [Palazzo Ricci](Vasi111.htm#Palazzo Ricci); (right) a king, perhaps one of the Magi, probably "advertising" an inn (there are lots of "Taverna del Moro" throughout Italy)

The painted fa�ades of two Renaissance houses in Via del Pellegrino were made more visible by a recent restoration. They are situated near the end of the street where also Casa di Pietro Paolo della Zecca shows evidence of having been painted.

#### Arco degli Acetari

## (left) Courtyard inside Arco degli Acetari; (right) Vicolo del Bollo (stamp)

An arch in Via del Pellegrino gives access to a courtyard surrounded by buildings, which, although in part modernized, retain the structure of ordinary medieval houses. The name of the site refers to acetari, sellers of mineral water (acqua acetosa). In 1680 silversmiths were asked to relocate to Via del Pellegrino; the fineness of the gold and silver objects they sold was certified by an office in Vicolo del Bollo, a narrow side street.

#### Palazzo Montoro

## (left) Fa�ade; (right) detail of the windows

Vicolo del Bollo leads to another narrow street which ends at [S. Maria in Monserrato](Vasi111.htm#S. Maria in Monserrato). It would seem the least suitable location for building a large palace, but perhaps its owners hoped to pull down the opposite houses. The Montoro were named after their fiefdom near Narni; they lived in this neighbourhood from the XVIth century; their palace has an XVIIIth century stucco decoration which includes heraldic symbols of the Chigi, because the last of the Montoro married Francesco Chigi, a distant relative of [Pope Alexander VII](Storia25.html#Alexander VII).

## Fountain in the courtyard (you may wish to see a page on these fountains)

Next plate in Book 4: [Palazzo Pio](Vasi75.htm#The Plate). Next step in Day 7 itinerary: [Palazzo Farnese](Vasi73.htm#The Plate). Next step in your tour of Rione Parione: [Campo de' Fiori](Vasi28.html#The Plate). Next step in your tour of Rione Regola: Albergo della Vacca.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

###### Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica

##### E' questo uno de' primi edifizj magnifici, che Roma avesse veduto dopo il corrotto gusto de' Goti. Fu principiato dal Card. Mezzarota Padovano, e poi terminato dal Card. Raffaele Riarjo con disegno di Bramante Lazzari l'anno 1485. avendovi impiegato i travertini caduti dal Colosseo, e di altre fabbriche antiche. Il portone per� fu fatto dal Cardinale Alessandro Farnese con disegno di Domenico Fontana. Contiene varj appartamenti con un ampio cortile cinto di portici doppj con colonne di granito egizio, e si crede che siano quelle del suddetto portico di Pompeo. Negli appartamenti sonovi pitture di Giorgio Vasari, e di Francesco Salviati, e nella gran sala si vedono i cartoni d'una cupola di s. Pietro. Vi risiede il Card. Vicecancelliere, il quale con altri Prelati in ogni marted� e sabato fa la spedizione delle bolle Apostoliche, e gode la commenda e titolo della

###### Chiesa di s. Lorenzo e Damaso

##### Il medesimo Card. Riario rifece unitamente col palazzo la chiesa in onore de' ss. Lorenzo e Damaso, per conservare la memoria dell'antica, che era sulla strada del pellegrino, la quale fu atterrata per dare luogo al gran palazzo. Fu eretta l'anno 484. dal santo Pontefice in onore di s. Lorenzo martire, e si disse in Damaso per il suo fondatore. Era quella a tre navi ornata di colonne di granito, che poi furono collocate nel riferito cortile. Appresso alla chiesa fatto aveva il medesimo santo Pontefice una abitazione per le persone ecclesiastiche, e per� si crede, che in essa dimorasse per qualche tempo s. Girolamo, chiamato a Roma da s. Damaso medesimo, ed in quella casa succed� poi il palazzo del Card. Titolare, ed ora del Cardinale Vicecancelliere: ma poi fatto di nuovo il palazzo, e la chiesa, il Card. Alessandro Farnese, essendo Vicecancelliere, la orn� di soffitto dorato, e di pitture a fresco nelle pareti. Quella con s. Lorenzo sulla graticola � di Gio. de' Vecchi, l'altra a destra di Giuseppe d'Arpino, e quelle incontro di Niccol� dalle Pomarance, il quadro per� sull'altare maggiore � di Federigo Zuccheri. La cappella della ss. Vergine, che sta a destra ornata di marmi, stucchi dorati, e pitture, � disegno di Pietro da Cortona, il quale vi dipinse la volta. La cappella del santissimo Sagramento, che sta da piede della chiesa fu ornata dal Card. Pietro Ottoboni con marmi, pitture, e metalli dorati, e quella incontro dedicata a s. Nicol� di Bari, e a s. Filippo Neri � disegno di Niccol� Salvi; il quadro sull'altare � del Cav. Conca, e le pitture a fresco sulla volta e negli angoli sono di Corrado Giaquinto. E' di somma devozione l'immagine del ss. Crocifisso nella cappella, che segue, per la tradizione che pi� volte parlasse a santa Brigida, mentre vi faceva orazione. E' notabile finalmente, che sotto l'altare maggiore, oltre il corpo di s. Damaso Papa, vi fu riposto quello di s. Eutichio martire, e la met� de' corpi di s. Faustino e di s. Giovita, e altre reliquie. In questa chiesa fu istituita la prima confraternita per accompagnare il ss. Sagramento agl'infermi l'anno 1501. e poi l'anno 1508. fu approvata da Giulio II. concedendole molte indulgenze. Fra li varj sepolcri de' defonti si vede in questa, quello di Annibal Caro celebre poeta. Mancherei troppo al mio dovere se non avvisassi al mio Lettore, che qu� nel vicolo a sinistra detto de' Leutari, facendosi i fondamenti di una casa nel Pontificato di Paolo III. fu scoperta la statua di Pompeo il Grande, e se altres� non accennassi la bellezza dell'architettura, che si vede in un palazzino qu� incontro detto la Farnesina, creduto bench� vanamente per casa del Buonarroti.