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You are in: Home » Culture and leisure » Cultural heritage » Architectural and historical heritage » Palazzo di Montecitorio (sede della Camera dei Deputati - Parlamento)
Typology: Buildings

Address

Address: Piazza di Monte Citorio, 33
Zone: Rione Colonna (Pantheon-Montecitorio-Barberini) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Opening times

For the visits see in Montecitorio a porte aperte.

Information

Modalità di partecipazione: Free guided tour

Scheduled events

Description

The current seat of the Chamber of Deputies stands on the area formerly occupied by the sixteenth-century Palazzo Gaddi. The building was commissioned in 1653 to Gianlorenzo Bernini by Innocent X Pamphilj, who intended to make a gift to the Ludovisi family. In 1694, Innocent XII Pignatelli decided to transform it into the seat of the State Courts (Curia Innocenziana), commissioning Carlo Fontana to carry out the work. In 1871, the palace became the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, but as it proved insufficient for its new function, it was enlarged according to a design by Ernesto Basile, who between 1908 and 1927 added the new body containing the current parliamentary chamber and created the façade on Piazza del Parlamento.
The main façade on Piazza di Montecitorio still substantially retains Bernini's lines characterised by an accentuated convexity (the central part and the two extreme wings are slightly projecting). Rich in scenographic motifs, it has typical Baroque naturalistic features such as the rusticated ashlar on the corners of the wings and in the windows on the ground floor. The bell gable in the central section is the work of Fontana. The rear façade on Piazza del Parlamento, built by Basile, although stylistically unrelated to the surrounding urban context, shows valuable Art Nouveau decorations.
Inside, in addition to the large parliamentary chamber decorated by Sartorio and Calandra, there is the corridor known as "dei passi perduti" (of the lost steps) and another known as "il Transatlantico" (the transatlantic corridor), all decorated with fine furnishings and precious ancient and contemporary works of art.

Montecitorio a porte aperte (Montecitorio Open Doors) allows everyone to easily visit the seat of the Chamber of Deputies. The tour starts from the entrance in Piazza Montecitorio and, guided by parliamentary assistants, follows an itinerary that touches on the most famous and evocative places of parliamentary life: the Chamber where the 630 members of parliament meet in plenary session, the large corridor facing the Chamber called the Transatlantic or the Corridor of Lost Steps, the majestic Bernini stairways leading to the upper floors, the large reception rooms on the second floor (Sala della Lupa, Sala Aldo Moro, Sala della Regina).

See also

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Last checked: 2023-04-13 15:59