Palazzo di Montecitorio Tours
TIME : 2016/2/22 11:40:22
Palazzo di Montecitorio Tours
The Palazzo di Montecitorio is the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the house of Italy’s parliament. It was completed under Pope Innocent X in 1650, designed by Bernini and afterwards expanded by Carlo Fontana. It was the pope's vision to house the Pontifical Curia here, but the building ended up serving a variety of functions over the years until it became the seat of the Chamber of Deputies later on. Although the look of the building has changed over the years and it got a makeover in the Art Nouveau style in the early 20th century, the clock tower, column, window sills and the baroque Bernini façade remain the same.
A newer addition is the long salon, where informal political discussions and agreements take place, leading to it being referred to as the informal center of Italian politics. The salon’s name, Transatlantico, refers to a construction company from Palermo. Although they did a great job on the decorations and the interior design, they were, at the time, best known for working on passenger ships. Practical Info
The Palazzo is located in the center of Rome between the Piazza Montecitoria and the Piazza del Parlamento. The closest metro stations are Barberini, Repubblica, Termini and Colosseo, although they are all quite a distance away. It’s easiest to take the metro to the Repubblica stop and then hop on bus 85 or 175 to Corso/Minghetti. There are open-door days, which usually take place on the first Sunday of the month and allow people to visit without booking in advance.
