Palazzetto

chapter ii • palazzo albertoni spinola: a history •
Palazzo
Albertoni Spinola
history
The Albertoni Spinola Palace, with an entrance in Campitelli square at n. 2, is located
in the 10th District of Rione Campitelli. The facade of the Palace, facing the piazza
Campitelli, was built between 1603, and the years immediately following, with some
interventions in late 1616. The work was commissioned by Marquis Baldassarre Paluzzi
Albertoni to Giacomo della Porta (ca. 1540-1602), in an area likely to be rebuilt between
the buildings De Rossi (later Cavalletti) and Capizucchi.
The work of Della Porta involved the project and the construction of the bearing
structures and the internal partitions of the big building, in the years between 1560
and 1580. Partcularly the project, that archiect Rainaldi finished after Della Porta
death, caused:
A) the architectural integration of the new construction into the ancient preexisting
Palazzetto, allowing this unit to extend and merge into the new construction
without being able to recognize that you are in one side or in the other part of the
Palazzo;
B) the preservation of direct view of the entry of Santa Maria (which is
the Campitelli Church located in front of the Palazzo Albertoni Spinola) from the
original door of the Palazzetto, despite having built the great Palazzo in front of what
pre-existed building. In fact, the entrance gallery of the building forms a diagonal
connection between the square and the inner courtyard;
C) the use of the old roof secret garden of the Palazzetto from the first floor of the
Palazzo, making this unit a unique property of its kind.
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