Palazzo del Quirinale

By the 1500s, the Vatican had a reputation as an unhelthy location because of the high incidence of malaria, so Pope Gregory XIII chose this superb site on the highest of Rome's seven hills as a summer residence for the popes. Work began in 1574. The Piazza del Quirinale has buildings on three sides while the fourth is open, giving a splendid view of the city to the great dome of St Peter's in the distance.
Quirinal fountain and obelisk with Roman statues of Castor and Pollux - the patrons of horsemanship - and their prancing horses stand in splendor in the Piazza del Quirinale. Over 5.5 m (18 fy) high, these statues are huge Roman copies of the 5th century BC Greek originals. They once stood at the entrance to the nearby Baths of Constantine. Pope Sixtus V had restored and placed them here in 1588. Formerly known as the "horse tamers", they gave the square its familiar name of Monte Cavallo.The obelisk which stands between them was brought here in 1786 from the Mausoleum of Augustus. In 1818 the composition was completed by the addition of a massive granite basin, once a cattle trough in the Forum.
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 that runs the length of Via del Quirinale. After the unification of Italy in 1870, it became the official residence of the king, then in 1947 of the president of the republic.

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Contact Information

Palazzo del Quirinale
Piazza del Quirinale
00183 Roma

Tel. +39685301758

http://www.romeguide.it