Palazzo della Farnesina, Government palace in Foro Italico area, Rome, Italy
Palazzo della Farnesina is a government palace in the Foro Italico area of Rome, stretching 169 meters (555 feet) and faced with Roman travertine. Three central courtyards organize the interior, which contains more than a thousand rooms and several kilometers of corridors.
The building was designed from 1935 as headquarters for the fascist party, but war halted construction. After the conflict, the Foreign Affairs Ministry took over the project and moved in fully by 1959.
The building takes its name from the Farnese family, who once owned gardens stretching between Monte Mario and the Tiber. Visitors see travertine stone quarried from Roman sites, linking the palace to the traditional building methods used throughout the city.
The ministry is a working office building and not a public attraction, so most areas remain closed. Occasionally, exhibition spaces displaying twentieth-century Italian art open for special events or guided tours.
The collection inside displays Italian art movements from Art Nouveau through to Transavantgarde, combining political function with aesthetic presentation. Previously, Foreign Affairs offices were scattered across different locations before consolidating here.
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