Where it wasn’t, how it wasn’t: the Intricate Story of the Transfer of the Palazzetto Venezia in Rome

Abstract

Built between 1466 and 1469 as a garden for Pope Paul II, the Palazzetto di Venezia in Rome has a complex history. The area on which the pope's ancient Viridarium stood was chosen for the construction of the great national monument dedicated to the first king of Italy.

The story of its demolition and reconstruction can therefore be attributed to a series of operations aimed at transforming the vast area at the foot of the Campidoglio, and the complex decision-making

process involving two nations: the newly unified Italy and the owner of the building, Austria. The project for the new building, on the south side of the Palace, ended up deviating greatly from a mere “transfer”: symbolic connotations, material constraints and functional expectations contributed to almost completely changing the characteristics of the new building compared to the previous one. However, the clear desire to maintain a link with the memory of the Viridarium meant that the Palazzetto, in the external lines of the facades and in the reuse of materials from the cloister, was reminiscent of the ancient structure. This contribution illustrates the story of the building’s relocation – obscured until now by the large construction sites that sprang up around the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II – using contemporary sources and the results of a direct study of the building. The comparative analysis of the two buildings, carried out with particular reference to construction techniques and materials, is accompanied by a reconstruction of the cultural climate in which the positions taken by Ricci and Giovannoni, among others, emerged, and of the two construction sites – demolition and reconstruction – in relation to both the adjacent palace and the surrounding medieval district of San Marco.