Palazzo Farnese

Erected in Rome between 1517 and 1589 for the powerful Farnese family, Palazzo Farnese condenses the entire evolution of Renaissance palatial architecture. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger conceives the massive structure; Michelangelo takes over the construction in 1546 and enlarges the cornice, transforms the first floor's central window into a triumphal balcony. The brick and travertine façade imposes antique gravity at the heart of papal Rome. Today France's embassy, the building remains one of Europe's most impressive urban palaces.

The palazzo occupies an entire block near Campo de' Fiori. Its superimposed courtyards, its three-level cortile of loggias and its grand staircase prefigure the modern princely residence. Annibale Carracci's fresco cycle on the gallery ceiling — loves of the gods — becomes in the seventeenth century the reference school for Baroque painters. Erected in Rome between 1517 and 1589 for the powerful Farnese family, Palazzo Farnese condenses the entire evolution of Renaissance palatial architecture.

Michelangelo intervenes especially on the upper floors: giant cornice, alternating windows, colossal order that influences Vignola and the subsequent course of Roman architecture. The construction drags over several Farnese generations, slowed by costs and changing ambitions. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger conceives the massive structure; Michelangelo takes over the construction in 1546 and enlarges the cornice, transforms the first floor's central window into a triumphal balcony.

Paul III, Farnese Pope, receives the court there; today the rooms host ambassadors and exhibitions. The building illustrates how a family enriched by the papacy converts ecclesiastical power into architectural permanence, to the point that all Rome seems built to affirm lineages. The brick and travertine façade imposes antique gravity at the heart of papal Rome.