Valentini Palace, or Imperiali Palace, is a Palace in Rome located in the center of the Capital, in via IV Novembre, 119/A, a few steps away from Piazza Venezia. From 1873 it is the headquarter of the Province of Rome, now Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and of the Prefecture.
The construction of the Palace is attributed to the Cardinal Michele Bonelli, nephew of Pope Pio V, who bought a preexisting palace in 1585 from Giacomo Boncompagni, located at the far end of Santi Apostoli square.
The Palace’s keystone plant was defined by the friar Domenico Paganelli. Thanks to the conspicuous money allocation done by the Cardinal, the Palace was quickly completed and three years later the Cardinal was already living I it. In the seventeenth Century, it was subject to a series of renovation and enlargement, done by the Cardinal Carlo Bonelli’s appointment and Michele Fredinando Bonelli.
The Palace was partly demolished and rebuilt by Francesco Paparelli for the new owner, Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, who put there the whole family library (the “Imperiali” library) composed by nearly 24.000 books.
The whole building was then bought by Cardinal Giuseppe Spinelli in 1752,who had the decorations of the first floor done and rearranged the ground floor and the rich Imperiali library destined to public fruition and also attended by Johann Johavhim Winkelmann.
In 1827 the banker and Prussian General Consul Vincenzo Valentin bought the Palace, settled there and gave the building his name. The Palace was further enlarged and embellished with great expense and the banker put there his collection of paintings and increased the already vast collection of books and archeological finds. The completion of the works on the back of the building, overlooking the Colonna Traiana, was given to the architects Filippo Navone and Giovanni Battista Benedetti.
Vincenzo’s son, Gioacchino Valentini, charged the execution of two further enlargements on the left side, along via Sant’Eufemia, between 1861 and 1865, to the architect Luigi Gabet.
The Provincial Deputation of Rome finally bought the Palace in 1873 to turn it into its head office, always charging the architect Gabet of completing the right side on via de’ Fornari, near vicolo di San Bernardo.
The Palace’s keystone plant was defined by the friar Domenico Paganelli. Thanks to the conspicuous money allocation done by the Cardinal, the Palace was quickly completed and three years later the Cardinal was already living I it. In the seventeenth Century, it was subject to a series of renovation and enlargement, done by the Cardinal Carlo Bonelli’s appointment and Michele Fredinando Bonelli.
The Palace was partly demolished and rebuilt by Francesco Paparelli for the new owner, Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali, who put there the whole family library (the “Imperiali” library) composed by nearly 24.000 books.
The whole building was then bought by Cardinal Giuseppe Spinelli in 1752,who had the decorations of the first floor done and rearranged the ground floor and the rich Imperiali library destined to public fruition and also attended by Johann Johavhim Winkelmann.
In 1827 the banker and Prussian General Consul Vincenzo Valentin bought the Palace, settled there and gave the building his name. The Palace was further enlarged and embellished with great expense and the banker put there his collection of paintings and increased the already vast collection of books and archeological finds. The completion of the works on the back of the building, overlooking the Colonna Traiana, was given to the architects Filippo Navone and Giovanni Battista Benedetti.
Vincenzo’s son, Gioacchino Valentini, charged the execution of two further enlargements on the left side, along via Sant’Eufemia, between 1861 and 1865, to the architect Luigi Gabet.
The Provincial Deputation of Rome finally bought the Palace in 1873 to turn it into its head office, always charging the architect Gabet of completing the right side on via de’ Fornari, near vicolo di San Bernardo.
