Farnese Palace

PALAZZO FARNESE

SETTING FOR ACT II OF PUCCINI'S OPERA TOSCA

The facade of the Palazzo Farnese, a product of the minds of Sangallo and Michelangelo working for Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese, 1468 - 1534 - 1549 (81)) is as close to perfection as makes no difference.

Inside (and below) is the famous galleria frescoed by Annibale Carracci in the years 1597 - 1608. It was the setting chosen by Puccini for Act II of his opera "Tosca", where Floria Tosca, after a lot of singing, knives and kills the nasty Scarpia after he had let slip "Tosca, you made me forget god" as he made her a proposition which turned out to be dramatically unsuccessful from his point of view. Act I of Tosca is set in the huge Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, and Act III takes place in Castel Sant'Angelo down the road from the Vatican.

The Palazzo itself ended up in the hands of the French Bourbon family through various marriages, and most of the priceless artefacts inside were moved to their main base in Naples. It was purchased by the French Government in 1911, but the Italian Government insisted on a 25 year buyout option, which they exercised exactly 25 years later! The building was then leased to the French for 100 years for use as their embassy - it will be interesting to see what happens in 2036!

Despite embassy security, it is still possible to join limited tours run by the embassy, though be warned that bookings have to be made months ahead. Details are shown at the bottom of this page.

Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) - 1468 - 1534 - 1549 (81)

Painted in 1543 by Titian - you'll find him facing down the el Grecos in the Sacristy of Toledo Cathedral

Link to Popes of the Renaissance

Paul III was the Pope who kicked off the Council of Trent - The Council of the Counterreformation - in 1545.

Alessandro's sister, the reputedly drop dead gorgeous Giulia Farnese, was mistress of the earlier Spanish Borgia Pope Alessandro VI . Sadly not one authentic image of her survives (see this web page), and one of the few memories of her name is the road named after her which runs down the back of the Palazzo Farnese. Cardinal Farnese received rapid advancement under Alessandro VI, leading to his nickname of "the Petticoat Cardinal". He had four children by his Roman mistress - Pier Luigi, Paolo, Ranuccio, and Costanza - and later made sure that two of his grandchildren were appointed cardinals whilst still in their teens (probably the two "nephews" shown below, nephew being the euphemistic term often used to describe the children / grandchildren of Popes and Cardinals).

One of the guards' room occupants who got left behind

Tomb stuff in the back

Apart from the Galleria shown later, the other major "room" on show is the Room of the Guards - a beautifully proportioned space at the head of the staircase with a magnificent carved wooden ceiling, which looks out over the piazza - and for Dom P a much more enticing space than the famous Galleria at the back.

The galleria frescoed by Annibale Carracci in the years 1597 - 1608.

Limited places are available for tours of the Farnese Palace which take place on non holiday Thursday afternoons, but you will have to book months in advance at

The Office of the Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy in Rome, 250 Via Giulia (behind the Farnese Palace)

Tel: (39) 0668 89 2818, Fax: (39) 0668 80 9791, web: www.france-italia.it email: visitefarnese@france-italia.it

Links to other pages in Paradoxplace