Palazzo Chigi of Ariccia, Baroque palace and Roman museum in Ariccia, Italy
Palazzo Chigi is a five-story Baroque palace with corner towers, a simple facade with railings, and rooms furnished with period pieces and wall decorations. Inside, it holds art collections spanning different eras and styles, displayed across multiple decorated chambers.
The Savelli family, lords of Ariccia from 1423, began the palace; a new ducal residence built by Duke Camillo Savelli is documented from 1608. On 20 July 1661 Cardinal Flavio and Princes Mario and Agostino Chigi bought the fief for 358,000 scudi and in 1664 called Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with Carlo Fontana directing the works, which ended in 1672.
The palace keeps its original 17th-century furnishings, including Bernini-school leather wall hangings and consoles. Since 2007 it has housed the Museo del Barocco Romano, built on donated collections such as the Fagiolo and Lemme holdings. Paintings by Cavalier d'Arpino, Baciccio, Salvator Rosa and Mario de' Fiori hang in the state rooms.
The palace is reached from Piazza di Corte, the square Bernini designed in front of it. Visitors move through the piano nobile and the upper rooms on foot, so allow time for stairs and for the length of the decorated chambers.
The building still preserves its original gilt-leather wall coverings from when it was built. It also houses preparatory drawings and sketches by an Italian artist for mosaics that ended up in a major Roman basilica.
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