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The palace was built in the early 16th century for Cardinal Adriano Castellesi da Corneto, based on a design by Bramante (as reported by Vasari) or, according to other scholars, by Andrea Bregno, given the similarity of the building with the Palazzo della Cancelleria, also attributed to Bregno. Due to the changing fortunes of Cardinal Castellesi, work proceeded slowly, so much so that in 1505 the palace was donated to Henry VII, still incomplete, to be used as the residence of the British ambassador. It then passed to other owners, and was bought in 1720 by Count Pietro Giraud and a century later by Prince Giovanni Torlonia. The façade has elegant Renaissance forms; on the ground floor there is an arched portal, made in the 18th century by Antonio Valeri on behalf of Count Pietro Giraud, on which the Torlonia coat of arms has been added; on the sides there are rectangular windows. On the first and second floors are seven windows, separated by a wide cornice and marked by pairs of pilasters with Ionic capitals; those on the first floor are arched, those on the second rectangular. The crowning cornice is supported by corbels with small arched windows below. Inside there is a courtyard surrounded by arched porticoes with statues and bas-reliefs, decorated at the back with two large 19th-century fountains.