The architectural history of Chigi Palace spans more than three centuries during which several projects and continuous adaptations to the ever-changing needs of the palace have followed. The palace, overlooking the
Piazza Colonna and the
Via del Corso, was begun in 1562 by
Giacomo della Porta. On 28 January 1578, the consistorial lawyer Pietro Aldobrandini, brother of the future
Pope Clement VIII, purchased a house on Via del Corso. The architect Matteo Bartolini from
Città di Castello was entrusted with the project. Aldobrandini already owned a property along the road that borders the so-called "Colonna island", connecting via del Corso with
Montecitorio, he intended to unite the two properties. At the death of Pietro Aldobrandini, his son sold the properties to Paolo Fossano, who continued the work on the side of Via del Corso. In 1616, cardinal
Pietro Aldobrandini, nephew of Clement VIII, repurchased the family home, resuming construction and incorporating various houses adjacent to the wing facing the future square. In 1659 it was purchased by the
House of Chigi, a rich family of bankers from
Siena. It was then remodelled by Felice della Greca and
Giovanni Battista Contini. It has five floors, a broad stairway that leads to the living rooms, and a courtyard decorated with a fountain, designed by Giacomo della Porta. The fountain has been copied in many sites in Rome and other Italian cities. After a couple of centuries in which the building has served mainly as the home of important families of papal Rome, starting from the end of the 1700s, the building was used as the seat of Spanish embassy in Rome. On 20 April 1770,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert there in the presence of
Charles Edward Stuart. In 1878 it became the residence of the
Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Italy. During this period the palace was nicknamed the "Austrian-Vatican
mole". At the beginning of the 20th century, the palace was hit by frequent
irredentist demonstrations, asking for the independence of
Trento and
Trieste. In 1916 it was bought by the
Kingdom of Italy and became the seat of the
Minister for Colonial Affairs, the ministry responsible for the government of the
country's colonial possessions and the direction of their economies. In 1922, at the beginning of
Benito Mussolini's rule, Palazzo Chigi became the official residence of the
Italian minister of foreign affairs. In 1961, it became the official meeting place of the
Council of Ministers and the residence of its
president, who is the head of the Italian government. At the end of the 20th century, the building underwent a restoration, completed on 7 November 1999. The intervention involved not only the facades, but also the rooms of the prime minister's office, which Prime Minister
Giuliano Amato had transferred to another hall of the palace, and that for the occasion it was re-established in its original location. On 28 April 2013, during the oath of the government led by
Enrico Letta, a man, Luigi Preiti, opened fire on two
carabinieri, Giuseppe Giangrande and Francesco Negri, injuring the latter and a pregnant passerby. ==Art==