The work was commissioned by Marquis Baldassarre Paluzzi Albertoni initially to
Giacomo della Porta (1532-1602), then continued and completed by
Girolamo Rainaldi (1570-1655), in an area between the buildings De Rossi (later Cavalletti) and Capizucchi. The work is the fruit of the work of the two great Renaissance architects who collaborated on several occasions and on various occasions through various papal commissions. In 1603, Knight Baldassarre Paluzzi Albertoni requested a permit to build the new facade, widening the area of the existing property towards the square and aligning the new wall with the corner of the adjacent Capizucchi palace. In 1616, he required an additional permit to construct, over the back door of his palace and over the alley, an archway to allow passage to his "nearest neighbors" (this is the archway built in the back, in the outside of the building, at the height of the first floor). So it is possible that the two buildings belonged to the same owner from the beginning, and then passed from one family to another. Moreover, it is plausible that the facade was created at another time – on an already existing renovated building – as witnessed by cartographers of the era: Cartaro, Du Peràc, and
Tempesta, whose maps indicate already existing houses in that area. In addition, what also possibly indicates these two phases is the different alignment of the interior: it is orthogonal to the courtyard and to the sides of the adjacent palaces, but it is off-axis with respect to the front of the square. In fact, the entrance gallery of the building forms a diagonal connection between the square and the inner courtyard. The presence of the Albertoni family is recorded in
Campitelli square: the family's coat-of-arms, the lion passant is to be found on the old fountain (1587–89) as well as in the palace, above the entrance, over the lintels and niches along the stairs and in the frieze below the
cornice of the main facade where we see lions passant with roe deer. Some of the minor palaces of the Paluzzi Albertoni family in Margana square, as well as under n. 36 of Via de' Delfini, were connected to the larger palace, both structurally and functionally. The heirs of the Paluzzi Albertoni family adopted on October 21, 1671 the surname and the arms of the Altieris together with the title of Princes by desire of
Emilio Altieri (1590-1676) elevated to the Papacy in 1670 under the name of
Clement X. Thus all the riches of the Altieris passed on to the descendants of the Paluzzi Albertoni family renamed as Altieri. In fact, the Palace of Piazza Campitelli turned out to be a less prestigious residence than the palace built by the Altieri al Gesù family which, together with the villa at the Lateran, was to host the works of art of the family. The Palace in Piazza Campitelli, remaining at the hands of the renewed offspring of the Altieris for more than a century was elevated with a fourth floor on top of the attic, and was sold in 1808 approximately by Prince Paluzzo Altieri to the Spanish politician
Manuel Godoy y Alvares de Faria Ríos Sánchez Zarzosa, Prince of the Peace, (1767-1851). Somewhat later, the building was handed over to Cardinal
Bartolomeo Pacca (1756-1844) who lived there from time to time at least from 1819. Upon Pacca's death, the palace of Piazza Campitelli belonged to his grandchildren for about fifty years, who rented parts of it out to their acquaintances, including Cardinals
Giacomo Piccolomini and
Giacomo Antonelli. Subsequently, in 1886 the building was sold by the descendants of Pacca to Countess Carolina Portalupi (1852-1891), who restored it, leaving it to her direct descendants, the Genoese Marquis Spinola [Maria Antonietta Spinola was later to marry the well-known politician
Mario Cingolani (1883- 1971), while Bonifacio Spinola married his second cousin, Countess Marina Baldeschi (1895-1983)]. The restoration of the Palace could not be postponed further since the complex was in a poor state of repair as a result of years of neglect: the works concerned mainly parts of the courtyard, the stairs, and the interiors. Walls were consolidated; arches, vaulted ceilings, and floors were reinforced or rebuilt; the eaves, roofs and terraces were repaired; the stairs and the floors of the landings of the main staircase were completely renewed; and many ceilings were renovated – especially the decorated ones – as were the upholstery of the interior walls, with doors and windows. There are also some interventions documented in relation to a more proper distribution of water and the renovation of the bathrooms. This period also witnessed the construction of the new glass-covered gallery on the south-east, and probably the cant of the third floor towards Palazzo Cavalletti. The work was substantial, but left the structure of the building unchanged. In 2006 and 2007 some conservative restoration work was carried out and the Palace is now in so good conditions that deserves this kind of masterpiece. == Features and description ==