Palazzo Farnese

The Palazzo Farnese is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. It was first designed in 1517 for the Farnese family and later expanded when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534. Many famous Italian architects worked on the building, including Michelangelo, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola, and Giacomo della Porta.

Today, the palace is owned by the Italian Republic but was given to the French government in 1936 for 99 years. It now serves as the French Embassy in Italy.

In the late 1500s, the painter Annibale Carracci created a famous set of paintings called The Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery. These paintings helped start two different styles in art during the 1600s: the Roman High Baroque and Classicism. The palace also once held many famous sculptures and art collections, which are now mostly in the National Archeological Museum of Naples and the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.

History

The Palazzo Farnese is one of the largest and most important palaces from the 1500s in Rome. It was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and building started in 1515 for Alessandro Farnese, who was a important church leader. Work stopped for a while during a big problem in Rome in 1527.

When Alessandro became Pope Paul III in 1534, he made the palace even bigger. He asked Michelangelo to help design the top part and the courtyard. The palace shows off the power and importance of the Farnese family. It has special designs on its front, like different shapes above the windows and a big coat-of-arms for the Pope.

Michelangelo also planned a bridge from the palace to gardens across the River Tiber, though it was never built. Later, the palace was finished with a fancy front facing the river by Giacomo della Porta in 1589.

Interior decorations

The Palazzo Farnese has many beautifully decorated rooms. Some of the walls and ceilings were painted with detailed pictures, including stories from ancient heroes like Hercules. One famous room, called the Hercules Room, once held a very old and important statue known as the Farnese Hercules.

One of the most famous paintings is called The Loves of the Gods, created by the artist Annibale Carracci. This painting shows scenes from ancient stories and uses ideas from famous artists like Raphael and Michelangelo. The ceiling is divided into framed pictures, with carvings and small statues adding to the design. The main scene shows a joyful celebration with characters from ancient myths.

Inspired works

The Palazzo Farnese's design has inspired many buildings around the world. Some of these include the Detroit Athletic Club in Detroit, Michigan; Château Grimaldi near Aix-en-Provence, France; the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., US; the Chief Secretary's Building in Sydney; the Banco di Roma in Alexandria, Egypt; the Royal Palace, Stockholm; and the Cunard Building in Liverpool. In England, architect Charles Barry loved the Palazzo so much that he used its design for London's Reform Club.

Puccini's Tosca

In the opera Tosca by Puccini, which came out in 1900, there is an important scene that happens in the Palazzo Farnese. The story is set in Rome during the time of Napoleon. The main character has a big moment with a powerful police leader inside the palace.

The palace was owned by the Bourbon kings of Naples before being bought by the French government in 1874. Later, in 1936, the Italian government under Benito Mussolini bought it, but the French Embassy still stays there. They pay just one euro each month as a symbol of their lease agreement.

Palazzo Farnese library

The Palazzo Farnese has a very important library. It was gathered by the Ecole Française de Rome. The library has many books about the archeology of Italy and medieval Papal history. The Ecole Française de Rome worked hard to share information about the building, its art, and its library in books. The first three books are:

• F.C. Uginet, Le palais farnèse à travers les documents financiers (Rome 1980).
• A. Chastel, Le Palais Farnèse. Ecole Française de Rome I.1 and I.2 and II (Rome 1980–82).
• F. Fossier. Le Palais Farnèse III.2. La bibliothèque Farnèse. Étude des manuscrits latins et en langue vernaculaire (Rome 1982).
• B. Jestaz, Le Palais Farnèse III.3. L'inventaire du palais et des propriétés Farnèse à Rome en 1644 (Rome 1994)

Palazzo Farnese in popular culture

The Palazzo Farnese was used in a 2013 movie version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The film was directed by Julian Fellowes and starred Douglas Booth as Romeo.