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From 1895 the building has been the general house of the Salvatorian Fathers and Brothers.

The palace was built for Cardinal Francesco Armellini at the beginning of the 16th century on the site of Seneca's house. In 1565 it was purchased by Angelo and Pier Donato Cesi, who had it completely renovated between 1570 and 1577 by the architect Martino Longhi the Elder.

The palace has an internal courtyard in the form of a cloister, where there are traces of the ancient paving of the Via Cornelia. A wide travertine staircase with statues of St Peter and St Paul leads to the main floor. Here the gallery has large vaults painted with frescoes depicting the story of King Solomon, inspired by Pietro da Cortona and dated between 1653 and 1662.

The library, with its 16th-century painted wooden ceiling and frescoed walls, is also valuable, and contains important documents on the history of the Society of the Divine Saviour (Salvatorians), founded in 1881 by Father Francesco Jordan; and in the main chapel there are original frescoes painted for Cardinal Cesi by the painters Nicola Martinelli and Tommaso Laureti (1530-1602). Opposite, the founder's chapel and the small museum containing Father Jordan's personal belongings. From the building's terrace there is a unique view of the dome of St Peter's Basilica and many other monuments of the Eternal City.