Thursday, July 23, 2015

Palazzetto Zuccari

Palazzetto Zuccari, Piazza Trinità dei Monti, Roma

Palazzo Zuccari by Federico Zuccari, 1590
Corner of Via Sistina with Via Gregoriana
Piazza Trinità dei Monti
Rome, September 2010

“Situated on the slope of the Pincian Hill, the Palazzo Zuccari was built from 1590 by the painter and art theorist Federico Zuccari. The ground floor still features the original frescoes executed by Zuccari who also designed the celebrated mascherone on Via Gregoriana which provided access to the artist’s garden. The Zuccari coat of arms, a sugarloaf (pan di zucchero), is still the emblem of the institute. In his will the artist stipulated that after his death his studio should serve as a meeting place for the painters, sculptors and architects of the academy and that the rest of the house provides accommodation for poor young artists, especially for artists coming from regions north of the Alps. Unfortunately, no struggling artist was to enjoy that privilege. When Zuccari died in 1609, heavily in debt, the building was still unfinished so that his provisions could not be fulfilled. After completing the palace, Zuccari’s heirs rented it out to prominent tenants.” (Palazzo Zuccari, Bibliotheca Hertziana)

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