Piazza Farnese
Just south of Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Farnese is a quite different square, with great fountains spurting out of lilies - the Farnese emblem - into marble tubs brought from the Baths of Caracalla, and the sober bulk of the Palazzo Farnese itself, begun in 1514 by Antonio di Sangallo the Younger and finished off after the architect’s death by Michelangelo, who added the top tier of windows and cornice. The building now houses the French Embassy and is closed to the public, which is a pity, since it holds what has been called the greatest of all Baroque ceiling paintings, Annibale Carracci’s Loves of the Gods, finished in 1603. However, newly restored, even from the outside it’s a tremendously elegant and powerful building; indeed, of all the mythologic locations that Rome’s embassies enjoy, this has got to be the best.
Category: Rome