Palazzo Colonna

Stand still for a moment and listen. The traffic of Rome fades as you pass from the street into the palace. The air cools. Underfoot, the floor is hard and polished, and every footstep carries further than you expect. Ahead, a long room opens up in gold, marble and painted light. You are now inside a private house. The family that built it has lived here, in one form or another, for many centuries.

This is Palazzo Colonna. It sits at the foot of the Quirinal Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome. Its front faces the small square of Santi Apostoli, named after the Church of the Holy Apostles beside it. From the street, the building looks long and plain. That plainness is deliberate. Roman noble families often kept their richest rooms out of sight, behind walls that gave little away to passers-by.

The Colonna are one of the oldest aristocratic families in Rome. Their name means column, and you will see a column used as their family emblem throughout the palace. It appears on ceilings, on frames, on furniture, even worked into the decoration of doorways. For hundreds of years the Colonna produced cardinals, soldiers and statesmen. They also competed, sometimes violently, with rival families such as the Orsini for power in the city.

One member of the family rose higher than all the others. In 1417, Oddone Colonna was elected pope and took the name Martin the Fifth. His election helped to end a long split in the Western Church, a period when rival popes had claimed authority at the same time. Martin the Fifth lived in the family property here. Under him, the site grew from a medieval stronghold into something closer to a princely residence.

The palace you see today is the result of many rebuildings across the centuries. The great gallery was created in the seventeenth century, when the family wanted a space to show its wealth and its taste. The work began under Cardinal Girolamo Colonna. It was completed later in that century under Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna. The result is one of the grandest Baroque interiors in Rome. Baroque here means an art of movement, gilding and theatrical effect, designed to overwhelm the visitor.

Look up at the ceiling of the Great Hall. The painting celebrates Marcantonio Colonna, a family commander at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. In that sea battle, a fleet of Christian states defeated the navy of the Ottoman Empire off the coast of Greece. The family never let anyone forget its part in that victory. The fresco turns a naval battle into a heavenly triumph, with figures rising through clouds into the light.

Now look down, toward the steps between the levels of the hall. Here is the first surprise that many visitors miss. A cannonball rests on one of the marble steps. It dates from 1849, when French troops besieged Rome to end the short-lived Roman Republic. A shot fired across the city came through the palace and landed here. The family chose to leave it in place, as a memory of that siege.

Film lovers may feel a flash of recognition in this hall. In the 1953 film Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn plays a young princess who escapes her duties for a day in Rome. The final scene, her press conference, was filmed in this very room. If you know the film, you can stand where the journalists stood. Look toward the far end of the hall, where she said goodbye.

The collection itself was built over generations. Paintings hang close together, frame touching frame, in the old style of a princely gallery. Among the most loved works is The Bean Eater by Annibale Carracci, painted in the late sixteenth century. It shows a rough working man at a simple meal, spoon raised, staring straight at you. In a palace full of saints and heroes, this ordinary face is the second surprise. It feels almost modern.

Walk slowly through the side rooms. Some walls carry landscapes, painted to open the room toward imaginary countryside. Some mirrors are painted too, with flowers and small cherubs across the glass. In the age of candlelight, mirrors multiplied every flame and made a room glow. Notice also the cabinets of rare stone and precious inlay. These pieces were made to impress guests, and to show that the family could gather beautiful things from across Europe.

Behind the palace, the gardens climb the slope of the Quirinal. Small bridges cross over the street behind the building and link the house to the terraces above. Within the gardens lie fragments of a large ancient temple, often identified with the god Serapis. Serapis was a god of Greek and Egyptian origin who became popular in Roman times. It is a reminder that this family built its home directly on top of the ancient city.

Access to the different parts of the palace is limited, because this is still a family residence. The gallery, the private apartments and the gardens may be open on different terms. It is worth checking in advance which parts you will be able to see. Whatever you see, take your time. The details are small, and they reward a slow eye: a carved column, a gilded frame, a crack in old marble.

Before you leave, stand once more in the Great Hall and let your eyes adjust. Notice how the light from the windows falls across the gilded walls. Notice the quiet, which is rare in the centre of Rome. When you step back into the square of Santi Apostoli, look again at that long, plain front. You now know what it keeps behind it. Somewhere inside, a cannonball still rests on a marble step.