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Palazzo Caetani

Address

Address: Via delle Botteghe Oscure, 32
Zone: Rione Pigna (Torre Argentina) (Roma centro)

Contacts

Description

The palazzo at the Botteghe Oscure was built in the 16th century at the behest of Alessandro Mattei by the architect Nanni di Baccio Bigio in the Insula Mattei of the Sant'Angelo district.

To decorate it, the Mattei called on great artists such as Taddeo and Federico Zuccari, authors of the Stories of Alexander the Great, while Federico alone is responsible for The Slander. On the piano nobile Cristoforo Roncalli painted the Chapel and, together with Paul Bril, the Salone, in which the relationship between the large landscapes and the figures gives rise to a very rare solution in the fresco decoration of aristocratic palaces.

Sold by the Mattei family to various owners, in 1776 the Palace was bought for 39,500 scudi by Francesco Caetani, who promoted its renovation, assigning a leading role to the painter Antonio Cavallucci, who did most of the brilliant 18th-century decoration.

Both the collection of mobile paintings and the important furnishings are of great value. Of particular interest are the three portraits of Onorato VI, for which the young intellectual Caetani engaged the leading artists of the time: Pompeo Batoni, Raffaello Mengs and Angelica Kauffmann.

Last checked: 2021-05-14 12:44
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