Palazzo Spada, City palace in Regola district, Rome, Italy
Palazzo Spada is a 16th-century palace in the Regola district of Rome, known for its richly ornamented stucco facade featuring figures in niches, floral garlands and fruit arrangements. Inside, there is a gallery with four rooms of paintings and a famous perspective corridor that appears longer than it really is.
Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro commissioned construction in 1540 on family properties, and Bartolomeo Baronino completed the main structure by 1554. In 1632, Cardinal Bernardino Spada acquired the building and commissioned Francesco Borromini to design the famous perspective corridor in the courtyard.
The name comes from the Spada family, who bought the palace in the 17th century and assembled their art collection here. Visitors today see the original arrangement of paintings, hung according to Baroque criteria and reflecting the taste of a Roman noble family.
The palace serves as the headquarters of the Italian Council of State, so a written request in advance is needed to visit the Piano Nobile. The gallery on the ground floor can be visited on certain days and displays the historical rooms with their original furniture and paintings.
The perspective corridor by Borromini creates the illusion of a length of 37 meters (121 feet) through mathematical calculations, although it actually measures only eight meters (26 feet). The columns taper gradually and the floor rises slightly, making a statue at the end appear larger than it is.
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