Rome, 19th century pictorial decorations discovered and restored in a room of Palazzo Farnese

In a room on the second floor of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, home of theFrench Embassy in Italy and theÉcole française de Rome, pictorial decorations were discovered and restored under a tapestry that had been covering them for decades. The discovery of these considerably damaged and forgotten 19th-century wall paintings came to light during renovation work on the room carried out as part of projects to restore and enhance works in the halls of the Palace on the occasion of the École’s 150th anniversary. With the complete restoration of the pictorial decorations of a room that until a few years ago housed the institution’s management office, the École française de Rome is thus contributing to the historical documentation and enhancement of the heritage of the spaces of the Palazzo Farnese whose second floor it has occupied since 1875, the year of its establishment.

The room dates back to the 1860s, when the court of King Francis II, ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in exile after Garibaldi’s victory, found refuge in Rome and, in November 1862, settled in the most important architectural monument of the Farnese properties, inherited from the Bourbon dynasty of Naples in the previous century. It was necessary to transform a building that had suffered damage and looting into a royal residence suitable for the needs of the monarch’s court and family. The restoration of the palace was entrusted to Prince Pignatelli. Architect Antonio Cipolla (1823-1874) took over the direction of the work between 1861 and 1863. On the second floor, about ten rooms were decorated with Pompeian motifs, faux marble and panoramic views, with the help of Domenico D’Amico for the stucco work and brothers Gioacchino and Mariano Grassi for the paintings. On the second floor, the apartment reserved for the king’s younger brother, the Count of Caserta, which corresponds to the rooms occupied by the École française de Rome from 1875, received similar treatment. The two spaces whose decorations were hitherto known, the study-restored by the École française in 2005-and the adjoining room, have now been joined by this room with its bright blue walls decorated with architectural trompe-l’oeil and faux red breccia whose coffered ceiling decorated with the arms of Alessandro Farnese is highlighted by an upper frieze.

TheÉcole française de Rome, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza speciale archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio di Roma, and in keeping with its long tradition of studying and preserving spaces, entrusted the restorers of Recro Srl with the reinstatement of these decorations, respecting the original creation. The documentation program that accompanied the work revealed the presence of several pictorial layers. The investigations have paved the way for historical, aesthetic and technical analyses that will allow a deeper understanding of the use of the palace in the 19th century: a historical phase, to which these decorations bear witness, that has not yet been sufficiently studied.

“The full restoration of the pictorial decorations discovered during restoration work under the tapestry in the former office of the director of the École has just been completed,” explained Brigitte Marin, director of the École française de Rome. “A new room is thus added to the dozen or so rooms decorated under the direction of architect Antonio Cipolla between 1861 and 1863 for the arrival at Palazzo Farnese of the exiled Bourbon court of Naples. In the wake of a long tradition, the École continues the tireless work of setting up, restoring and historically documenting the spaces occupied on the second floor of Palazzo Farnese since its establishment in 1875.” “These interior decorations, the memory of which had been lost, are now revealed to the public, embellishing the celebration of the École française de Rome’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, which has been placed under the heritage banner in conjunction with major restoration work on the facades and roofs of the Palazzo Farnese,” the director concluded.

Pictured, restored pictorial decorations in the former office of the director of the École française de Rome

Rome, 19th century pictorial decorations discovered and restored in a room of Palazzo Farnese

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