Spada Palace

Palazzo Spada, located in Piazza Capo di Ferro in Rome, is a magnificent example of Baroque architecture that embodies the artistic and historical richness of the city. Built in 1540 for Cardinal Girolamo Recanati Capodiferro, the building was designed by the architect Bartolomeo Baronino from Casale Monferrato. Subsequently, in 1632, the palace was purchased by Cardinal Bernardino Spada, who commissioned Francesco Borromini to modify it according to the Baroque taste of the time. One of the most fascinating elements of Palazzo Spada is the famous perspective gallery designed by Borromini. This trompe-l’œil masterpiece creates the illusion of a 37-meter-long gallery, while in reality it is only 8 meters long. The sequence of columns of decreasing height and the rising floor generate this optical illusion, with a sculpture placed at the end of the gallery that appears life-size, but is only 60 centimeters tall. To create this extraordinary work, Borromini was assisted by the mathematician Father Giovanni Maria da Bitonto. The facade of the palace is decorated with sumptuous mannerist stuccoes, inspired by those of the Palazzo Branconio dell’Aquila. The decorations include garlands of flowers and fruit, grotesques, and symbolic scenes in bas-relief, making the facade one of the richest in Roman Cinquecento. The statues on the first floor represent historical figures such as Trajan, Pompey, Fabius Maximus, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Julius Caesar, and Augustus, whose exploits are narrated in eight large panels alternating with the windows on the top floor. In the courtyard of the palace, surrounded by sculptures of classical deities such as Hercules, Mars, Venus, Hebe, Juno, Jupiter, Proserpina, Minerva, Mercury, Amphitrite, Neptune, and Pluto, you can admire a series of statues inside niches framed by garlands. These decorative elements give the courtyard a majestic appearance rich in symbolism. One of the most interesting rooms in the palace is the Room of Pompey, which houses a colossal sculpture of Pompey the Great, believed to be the one at whose feet Julius Caesar fell. The statue was found under the boundary walls of two Roman houses in 1552, in the alley of the Leutari, near the Cancelleria. Originally, the statue was to be decapitated to satisfy the claims of both families claiming ownership, but Cardinal Capodiferro interceded with Pope Julius III, who purchased it and donated it to the cardinal. Palazzo Spada was purchased by the Italian State in 1927 and currently houses the Council of State. The Spada Gallery, located inside the palace, exhibits a rich collection of paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, including works by Andrea del Sarto, Guido Reni, Titian, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Guercino, Rubens, Hans Dürer, Caravaggio, Domenichino, Annibale Carracci, Salvator Rosa, Parmigianino, Francesco Solimena, and Artemisia Gentileschi. The paintings are displayed according to the taste of the 17th century, with frames against frames and smaller paintings placed above larger ones, creating a dense visual effect rich in detail. During the early months of 2014, the palace underwent renovation works for the creation of underground premises, including a parking lot. During these works, the seventeenth-century fountains were dismantled and the grassy lawn of the garden behind the palace was removed, but everything was restored at the end of the works.