Palazzo di Propaganda Fide

Palazzo di Propaganda Fide
Palace of the Propagation of the Faith
The Palazzo di Propaganda Fide on an engraving by Giuseppe Vasi
General information
Location	Rome, Italy

The Palazzo today

The Palazzo di Propaganda Fide (in English: Palace of the Propagation of the Faith) is a palace located in Rome, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, then Francesco Borromini. Since 1626, it has housed the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and since 1929 is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See.

History

The building is located in the Rione Colonna, at the southern end of piazza di Spagna. Its southern facade is in front of the basilica Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, whose cupola and the bell were the work of Borromini. The main facade was created by Bernini (1644), and the front side of the via di Propaganda by Borromini (1646). This setting aside of Bernini's work was a request of Pope Innocent X, who preferred Borromini's style. The work was completed in 1667.

Description

The facade made by Borromini

The building houses the chapel of the Biblical Magi, built by Borromini. On the outside, a ridge marks the separation between the ground floor and piano nobile. On the facade by Borromini, composed of pilasters, concave and convex curves in the windows design are alternating; it is one of the most famous examples of Italian Baroque architecture.

External links

• Palazzo di Propaganda Fide at archINFORM
• Collegio di Propaganda Fide
• The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome, a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Palazzo (p. 375)