The palace's main attraction, beside the art gallery, is the Casino dell'Aurora. The casino was designed by Vasanzio is located overlooking the
Piazza del Quirinale. On the walls are four frescoes of the
Seasons by
Paul Bril, and two
Triumphs by
Antonio Tempesta. Its ceiling displays what is considered the Bolognese painter
Guido Reni's fresco masterpiece (1614), commonly called ''
L'Aurora. It is surrounded by a painted frame or quadro riportato and depicts Apollo in his Chariot preceded by Dawn (Aurora)'' bringing light to the world. The incorporated heraldic symbols were meant to link Scipione with Apollo. The work is classically restrained and mimics poses from ancient Roman
sarcophagi, many of which are part of the museum's collection. The chariot procession, which recalls the
Annibale Carracci paintings in the Farnese Gallery in the
Farnese Palace, shows even more restraint. There is little concession to perspective, and if anything the vibrantly colored style is an affront to the tenebrism of Caravaggio's followers, despite this being a pavilion commissioned by one of
Caravaggio's early patrons, Scipione Borghese. The
pergolato is decorated by Paul Bril. The architect Vasanzio succeeded in achieving a perfect balance between the architectural structure and the lavish decoration of the façade. It is characterised by slabs from Roman sarcophagi of the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, which recount ancient mythological tales linked to the subject of love-death and the immortality of the soul. The central part of the façade is enhanced by big windows, which create charming transparency between outdoors and indoors and open onto the big central hall with its ceiling decorated with the
Aurora fresco. The same room holds other beautiful frescoes: the
Triumph of Fame and the
Triumph of Love by Antonio Tempesta, the Cardinal's coat of arms and Cherubino Alberti's putti, the
Four Seasons by
Paul Bril, 17th-century marble busts and sculptures from the Roman era, including the famous
Artemis the Huntress and the
Rospigliosi Athena. The ceilings of the two side halls are frescoed by
Domenico Passignano with the
Battle between Rinaldo and Armida and
Giovanni Baglione with the
Tale of Armida and some paintings from the Pallavicini Collection are still kept there. Later the site was sold to Giovanni Angelo Altemps for the sum of 115,000
scudi with the Reni
Aurora fresco valued at 200 scudi. It was then sold to the Bentivoglio family, followed by the Lante family, and then to
Cardinal G. Mazarini. It is during the ownership by these families and individuals that the main building of the palace took its final shape. The palace served as the French embassy in Rome prior before it moved to its more spacious current accommodation at the
Palazzo Farnese. In 1704, the palace became a property of the
Rospigliosi-Pallavicini family, who still own it and who enriched its decoration and completed its present art gallery. The casino is rented out for meetings. ==Art gallery==