Unknown Rome: Palazzo Poli

This historic palazzo is located right behind the Trevi Fountain – or to be more precise, it is the building that the Trevi Fountain is built against. So why, if it’s smack dab in the middle of tourist central, do we recommend it as a place to explore in Rome?

Because what we keep writing on this blog, and mention in conversation when we meet at check-in at one of our managed accommodations… is true: the real beauty of Rome is in the unseen. If you only visit what’s in every guidebook, neglecting to walk down the alleys and skip certain landmarks because they’re not on the must-see list, you’ll miss out… big time!

Of course, our guests might argue that they only have a limited number of days to see the main sights, and they can’t go “off script” because they don’t have enough time. However, Palazzo Poli is proof that you don’t have to go out of your way to find a place that the vast majority of tourists and locals never set foot in!

A jewel from the 16th century, with a complicated history

The Palazzo Poli that you see today as you walk to the Trevi Fountain or shop in Via del Tritone did not always look like this. For the sake of brevity, we’ll say here that we “Palazzo Poli” are what used to be a much larger building, which in turn was designed to sit on top of an existing structure, the Palazzo Del Monte, which was deemed too small by the noble family who bought it, the Dukes of Cesi di Ceri. So why wasn’t it named after them?

The palace is known as Poli because of another duke, Giuseppe Lotario Conti, Duke of Poli, who bought the building in 1678. In fact, it’s his wife, none other than Lucrezia Colonna, who should be named after the building, since it was she who commissioned most of the improvements to the façade and interiors, as well as the purchase of adjoining properties to make the building larger and more sumptuous.

This is not surprising, since at that time the wide Via del Tritone did not even exist here, and this area of Rome, with its winding alleys, was best known for the presence of THE quintessential palazzo, Palazzo Barberini, and its proximity to the Quirinal Hill, once the summer residence of the popes (now the seat of the President of Italy). In other words, Lucrezia wanted something that could compete with the Barberini residence and at the same time attract the attention of the Pope.

The building remained in the family for a couple of centuries, but when Rome was proclaimed the capital of Italy and major urban works were begun to make the city worthy of a (then) king, the construction of Via del Tritone and the nearby Umberto I tunnel meant that many ancient buildings were demolished, and one of them was indeed Palazzo Poli (or, a good portion of it) – it already had been reduced in size by the works to create the Trevi Fountain.

The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica (Central Institute for the Graphic Design)

The changes in ownership continued well into the twentieth century, when the partially demolished Palazzo Poli was finally purchased by the Italian State and turned into a museum, along with the adjoining headquarters of the Calcografia Nazionale: the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica was born.

The core of the collection was once housed in the Villa Farnesina in Trastevere and is an interesting series of ancient graphic works. As modern citizens, we tend to think of graphic design as a relatively contemporary concept, but examples of it can be found in art dating back centuries: etchings, drawings, prints, and anything that wasn’t strictly painted with a brush can be found here. At the same time, over the decades, the Institute has amassed a number of photographs and videos by artists who have experimented with both mediums.

Because of the nature of the collections, the building often hosts temporary exhibitions, either by contemporary artists or of collections of antique maps.

Like dozens of other museums in Rome, access to the Institute is free. If you’re lucky, you might find the Sala Dante open and not booked for conferences or other events: a magnificent hall built directly over the Trevi Fountain!

The Istituto Centrale per la Grafica is accessed from Via della Stamperia, 6 (Trevi Fountain area, of course!), which is within walking distance of many of our managed accommodations.