The Pamphilj Palace -

now the  Brazillian Embassy

In 1644, Cardinal Giambattista Pamphilj of the powerful Pamphilj family, who already owned a palace between the Piazza Navona and the Via Pasquino, became Pope Innocent X. With this election came the desire for a larger, more magnificent building to reflect his family’s increased prestige. Further land was bought, the architect Girolamo Rainaldi received the commission and construction began in 1646. The new project was to incorporate some existing buildings, including the former palace of the Pamphilj (whose exterior by Agostino Tassi was partially preserved) and the Palazzo Cibo.

 

In 1647, the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini made a series of new proposals for the palace. However, the prevailing preference was for Rainaldi’s more staid and conservative design. Borromini’s limited contributions included the stucco decoration of the salone (the main room) and design of the Gallery, located at first floor between the rest of the palace and the church of St. Agnese next door. The Gallery extends through the width of the block with a large Serliana window at either end.

 

In 1651, the painter Pietro da Cortona decorated the Gallery vault with scenes from the life of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome, as recounted by Virgil.

 

The Pamphilj claim to be descended from Aeneas. Unlike the spacious volume of the Palazzo Barberini in which he had painted his fresco celebrating the reign of Innocent’s predecessor, Urban VIII Barberini, the Pamphilj Gallery was long with a low vault which meant that a single viewpoint to see the frescoes was not possible.  So Cortona devised a series of scenes around a central painted framed ‘Apotheosis of Aeneas’ into the Olympian heavens. The elaborate door-frames regularly spaced along the longer walls of the Gallery display a combination of motifs typically used by Borromini and by Cortona.

 

The new palazzo became home to Innocent's widowed and unpopular sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini, his confidante and advisor and, more scurrilously, reputed to be his mistress. She was the mother of Camillo Pamphilj, the one-time cardinal, who through his marriage came into the possession of the Palazzo Aldobrandini, now known as the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, located some distance away on The Corso.

 

Confusingly, until the unification of the Doria and Pamphilj surnames, both palazzi were known as Palazzo Pamphilj, or in the case of today's Doria Pamphilj sometimes "Palazzo Pamfilio". Both spellings Pamphilj and Pamphili are in common Italian usage, even though the family prefers Pamphilj.

 

 

The Pamphilj Palace - now the  Brazillian Embassy

In 1644, Cardinal Giambattista Pamphilj of the powerful Pamphilj family, who already owned a palace between the Piazza Navona and the Via Pasquino, became Pope Innocent X. With this election came the desire for a larger, more magnificent building to reflect his family’s increased prestige. Further land was bought, the architect Girolamo Rainaldi received the commission and construction began in 1646. The new project was to incorporate some existing buildings, including the former palace of the Pamphilj (whose exterior by Agostino Tassi was partially preserved) and the Palazzo Cibo.

 

 

In 1647, the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini made a series of new proposals for the palace. However, the prevailing preference was for Rainaldi’s more staid and conservative design. Borromini’s limited contributions included the stucco decoration of the salone (the main room) and design of the Gallery, located at first floor between the rest of the palace and the church of St. Agnese next door. The Gallery extends through the width of the block with a large Serliana window at either end.

 

In 1651, the painter Pietro da Cortona decorated the Gallery vault with scenes from the life of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome, as recounted by Virgil.

 

The Pamphilj claim to be descended from Aeneas. Unlike the spacious volume of the Palazzo Barberini in which he had painted his fresco celebrating the reign of Innocent’s predecessor, Urban VIII Barberini, the Pamphilj Gallery was long with a low vault which meant that a single viewpoint to see the frescoes was not possible.  So Cortona devised a series of scenes around a central painted framed ‘Apotheosis of Aeneas’ into the Olympian heavens. The elaborate door-frames regularly spaced along the longer walls of the Gallery display a combination of motifs typically used by Borromini and by Cortona.

 

The new palazzo became home to Innocent's widowed and unpopular sister-in-law Olimpia Maidalchini, his confidante and advisor and, more scurrilously, reputed to be his mistress. She was the mother of Camillo Pamphilj, the one-time cardinal, who through his marriage came into the possession of the Palazzo Aldobrandini, now known as the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, located some distance away on The Corso.

 

Confusingly, until the unification of the Doria and Pamphilj surnames, both palazzi were known as Palazzo Pamphilj, or in the case of today's Doria Pamphilj sometimes "Palazzo Pamfilio". Both spellings Pamphilj and Pamphili are in common Italian usage, even though the family prefers Pamphilj.