Palazzo di Spagna

Palazzo di Spagna
General information
Location	Rome, Italy

ThePalazzo di Spagnais aBaroquepalace in thePiazza di Spagnain Rome. It has housed the Embassy ofSpainto theHoly Seesince 1647, and was bought by the Spanish crown in 1654. It previously belonged to theMonaldeschifamily, and so was known asPalazzo Monaldeschi.

Origins

The Embassy of Spain to theHoly Seeis the oldest embassy in the world. It was created in 1480 byKing Ferdinand the Catholic,its first ambassador being Gonzalo de Beteta, knight of theOrder of Santiago.

Among the political results of this diplomatic activity are the papal support for theReconquest of Granada,the sharing of theNew WorldbetweenSpainandPortugalthrough the "Bull Inter Caetera"in 1493 (seeTreaty of Tordesillas), theHoly Leaguefor the fight against the Turk culminating in the victory ofLepantoin 1571, among others.

Monaldeschi Palace: headquarters of the Embassy of Spain

The main entrance

The Spanish ambassadors had rented the Monaldeschi Palace for more than a decade. In 1647, the new ambassador,Íñigo Vélez de Guevara, 8th Count of Oñate,made an offer for the palace, owned by the Monaldeschi family, an old Roman noble family, through an Italian agent, Bernardino Barber, and later obtained the permission of purchase of the Congregation of Barons of thePontifical State,that had the power to approve the sale of important palaces. Barber bought it for 22,000Romanscudiand immediately transferred it to the Count of Oñate. Soon after, four other houses next to the palace were bought to expand the building.

In 1654, the palace was acquired by the Spanish crown as a permanent residence for ambassadors.King Philip IVsent 19,000ducatsfor maintenance and repair.

View from the piazza

The area of land occupied by the palace is 3589 m²(38 632 sq ft) with 11 000 m²(118 403 sq ft) of construction between plants and terraces that constitute one of the most beautiful and rich architectural works of the time.

Borrominidesigned the palace extension and traced the main staircase of the embassy and the lobby. The architect Antonio Del Grande (1625–1671) was the one who continued with the works. Between 1827 and 1834NeoclassicalandPompeian decorationswere introduced and a small wooden theater whereVittorio Alfieripremiered hisAntigoneon November 20, 1782, disappeared from the ballroom.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the palace was the center of a lavish and lively world of festivities that also animated thePiazza di Spagna,the scene of the most brilliant events of its time, public spectacles sponsored by the Spanish ambassador.

The embassy houses a collection ofGobelintapestriesof the 17th century that belonged to theBourbon-Orleans familyfrom theGalliera PalaceinBologna,with Roman and biblical motifs. The walls of the formal dining room are adorned with three splendid woolen and silk tapestries from the 18th century, originating from theRoyal Palace of Madrid,representing scenes from the life ofTelemachus,according to cartons drawn byRubens.

The halls have the presence of paintings of thePrado Museumof illustrious authors such asFederico Madrazo,Vicente López,Nattier,Mengs,Mario Nuzzi,among others. Among the sculptures stand out two busts byGianlorenzo Berniniof 1619,El alma beataandEl alma condenada.

On September 8, 1857,Pope Pius IXinaugurated theColumn of the Immaculate Conceptionthat presides over thePiazza di Spagnain memory of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate of whichSpainwas a tenacious defender for centuries.

Bibliography

• Alía, Manuel Espada Burgos; fotografía e investigación iconográfica, Juan Carlos García (2006).Buscando a España en Roma.Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores.ISBN8497853512.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Tomàs, Thomas J. Dandelet; traducción castellana de Lara Vilà (2002).La Roma española (1500-1700).Barcelona: Crítica.ISBN8484323900.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)