Piazza del Quirinale: From Popes to Kings to Presidents
Why is it significant?
Walk out into the open square and go to the balustrade at its far edge. The whole of Rome lies below you, a sea of domes and rooftops, and on the horizon, the dome of Saint Peter's. You are on the Quirinal, the highest of the seven hills.
Key Facts
| Place | Piazza del Quirinale: From Popes to Kings to Presidents |
|---|---|
| Address | Piazza del Quirinale, 00187 Roma RM, Italy |
| Geo Coordinates | 41.89930, 12.48650 |
| Part of Walk | Rivals on the Quirinal: Bernini vs Borromini in Baroque Rome |
| Generated | Generated |
Walk out into the open square and go to the balustrade at its far edge. The whole of Rome lies below you, a sea of domes and rooftops, and on the horizon, the dome of Saint Peter's. You are on the Quirinal, the highest of the seven hills.
Behind you rise two giants: the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, each one taming a rearing horse, more than five metres tall. They are Roman marbles that stood for centuries in the ruins of the Baths of Constantine on this hill, and somebody was so impressed that the names of Phidias and Praxiteles were carved on the bases, as if the greatest Greek sculptors had made them. They did not. Between them rises an obelisk that once stood outside the Mausoleum of Augustus, and below, a granite basin that used to serve as a cattle trough in the Forum.
Now turn to the long palace. In 1583 Pope Gregory the Thirteenth began it as a summer residence, because the air up here was healthier than down by the river. Bernini added the balcony above the main door, from which new popes were later announced to the crowd. Several conclaves were held inside. And in 1809, Napoleon's soldiers broke in at night, arrested Pope Pius the Seventh, and took him into exile in France.
In 1870, after the army entered at Porta Pia, the palace passed from the popes to the kings of Italy. Pius the Ninth refused to recognise the new kingdom and withdrew to the Vatican for the rest of his life. And in 1946, when Italians voted to abolish the monarchy, the king left and the palace became the home of the President of the Republic. Popes, kings, presidents: one building.
And that is where the rivals belong too. Bernini, the courtier, worked for this palace and its popes all his life. Borromini built for the friars. Today they lie in two different churches on opposite sides of the city, and Rome does not have to choose between them. Stay for the light if you can... at sunset, the domes below turn gold, one by one.