Two Drawings of the Torres-Lancellotti Palace in Rome

Abstract

The Roman Palace of the Torres family, located on the south side of Piazza Navona, has never been the subject of any specific studies reconstructing the history of its construction site and patronage. Two drawings, one of which has never been associated with the family’s main residence, offer the opportunity to see the palace in a new light. One of the two drawings is kept in the San Giacomo degli Incurabili Fund of the Archivio di Stato in Rome. It is a plan executed in the 16th century and attributed to the architect Francesco Paciotto, which shows part of the first floor of the palace in a different conformation from the present. The other drawing is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of modern architectural drawings, the Scholz Scrapbook. The sheet shows two plans, one of the main floors and part of the ground floor of the Torres Palace. Again, the drawing, work of an anonymous Frenchman, has features that do not correspond exactly to the current state of the building. This article aims to outline the general phases of activity on the site, to reflect on the workers involved and to better understand the ambitions of the Torres patronage.