(Carlo Maderno 1580). Originally built by a Cardinal, nephew of Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini, it was bought in 1659 by Pope Alexander VII Chigi who had his architect, Felice della Greca, add the facade overlooking the Colonna of Marco Aurelio. Maderno's hand can be seen in the entrance (unused) on Via del Corso.

It housed the Italian Foreign Ministry until they built their own modern pile, the Palazzo Farnesina near the Foro Italico, and is now the Prime Minister's Office.

(Bernini 1650). Like the Italian Parliament it houses, this vast Baroque building is a product of compromises between various people.

Democracy Italian style is certainly Baroque, partly genius and partly pragmatism, and very much a show - which is what Italians enjoy.

Palazzo Montecitorio History 2C. Emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius were cremated near here. 1650. Pope Innocent X Pamphili had Bernini build this palace as a present for the family of the late Pope Gregory XV Ludovisi. 1654. Innocent X ordered construction stopped after he and Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi quarrelled. 1680. Bernini died and his pupils continued planning. 1694. Carlo Fontana imposed his design for a Papal Law Court. 1871. The new government of united Italy remodeled it as Chamber of Deputies. The dramatic touch of Gian Lorenzo Bernini is visible in: the facade is not straight, but has two side pieces sloping back like a stage set and the base is made of huge rough-hewn travertine blocks making it seem to emerge from natural rock. Appropriate scenery for politicians.