PIRANESI, Giovanni Battista.

The Palazzo Odescalchi, or Chigi-Odescalchi, can be found in the Piazza Santi Apostoli, right in the centre of Rome. It sits opposite the Palazzo Colonna, the respective families competing to present the grandest facade. Originally also owned by the Colonna family, Palazzo Odescalchi was ceded to Cardinal Flavio Chigi (Pope alexander VII) in 1661, who engaged Gian Lorenzo Bernini to give it a facelift. After Palazzo Colonna was similarly reworked in the 1730s, the palazzo Chigi here was acquired in the next decade by Prince Baldassare Odescalchi, who engaged Nicola Salvi and Luigi Vanvitelli to expand the facade yet again to what we see depicted here. The Odescalchi were a noble and wealthy family from the Lake Como area, owning a large castle in the town of Bracciano. Hence this residence in Rome carrying the alternative name of Palazzo Bracciano. First engraved by Piranesi in 1753, this particular plate is posthumous Rome edition of 'Veduta di Roma'. It is one of group of Baroque palazzi he depicted in contrast to residual classical Roman remains.