Scuderie del Quirinale, Exhibition building at Quirinal Square, Rome, Italy
The Scuderie del Quirinale is an exhibition building on Quirinal Square, extending across multiple floors with display spaces throughout the structure. The venue includes a café and bookstore alongside its gallery areas for visitors.
Construction began in 1722 under Pope Innocent XIII following designs by Alessandro Specchi, with work continuing through the 1730s. Ferdinando Fuga took over the project and completed it after the initial interruption in progress.
The name Scuderie papali del Quirinale was shortened to Scuderie del Quirinale to avoid confusion over ownership, since the building belongs to the Presidency of the Republic. Its carriage function ended in 1938, when it became a garage; in the 1980s it housed a carriage museum. Since the 1999 restoration it has hosted large temporary exhibitions, from Caravaggio in 2010 to Raphael in 2020.
The Scuderie del Quirinale stands directly opposite the Palazzo del Quirinale, on the square of the same name; the exhibition halls cover about 1,500 m² and are reached by ramps and stairs linking the former carriage floors. Entrance is from the square side, and the visit is indoors, so it works in any weather. Temporary shows are ticketed and can draw long queues, so booking ahead is sensible.
The building stands on land that belonged to the Colonna family, part of the Quirinale villa attached to their palace, before Pope Innocent XIII commissioned Alessandro Specchi to replace Carlo Fontana's earlier early-18th-century structure. The name Scuderie papali was dropped to avoid confusion over ownership, since the building belongs to the Presidency of the Republic.
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