I was thrilled to be invited for a private tour of Palazzo Sacchetti with the fantastic company, Italian Ways. First things first: I want to thank Chiara and Italian Ways for the very rare opportunity to see this opulent, privately owned palace, which is always closed to the public. Except for us, on this special tour. Grazie, grazie, grazie.

Palazzo Sacchetti is a 16th-Century (1542 to be exact) palace located just off of the Lungotevere (the Tiber River bank) on the beautiful Via Giulia. One day, when I win the lottery or become a famous author thanks to this blog, I will live on Via Giulia. Every time I walk down this street or somehow sneak into one of its buildings, I just drool.

This visit was so thrilling for me. Please note the giant marble heads that top the “Nymph Building” in the garden in the photos below. There are identical heads facing the other direction, which overlook the busy Lungotevere street on the other side. I have seen them a million times and wondered what on earth was behind them. I assumed some kind of museum and I never investigated. No! Not a museum. A private home! From the Renaissance! And on this particular morning, I found myself on the other side, on the inside, wondering what good things I must have done in my life to be allowed in there.

Well, it’s always been famous, but you may recognize it from two memorable scenes in the Oscar-winning 2013 film, La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty). First, the scene in the aristocratic dining room where Jep’s friend, and mother of a recently deceased son, stares off into space (picture below). The whole point of this wonderful Fellini-esque film, is how empty one can feel despite being surrounded by all this beauty. It is a moving scene (and look at all that stunning furniture!). The other is one of the enchanting garden scene (the location manager for this film really outdid himself on finding Rome’s best gardens) in which the nuns chase around the little kids through perfectly shaped hedges, fountains, and sculptures. I know that sounds like a nightmare, but it wasn’t – it was beautiful.

I have driven or walked by Palazzo Sacchetti a million times, and when I saw the film I had no idea that that’s what I was seeing. It looked like it must be a castle out in the hills around Rome. Surely something so divine couldn’t be just off of the Tiber River, but it is, and La Grande Bellezza‘s choice to use it as a backdrop for some of its magnificent cinematography was inspired.

Construction of the palace was begun in 1542. Only 50 years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Friends, can you imagine? Obviously I understand that America was inhabited by great people before Europeans “discovered” it, but I am amazed at the difference between what existed in my country at the same time this existed in Italy. America is so young.

Palazzo Sacchetti was built by Antonio Sangallo, a renaissance architect to be his private home. The land had belonged to the Vatican until then. Over the next century, ownership changed hands a few times, until 1648 when it was purchased by the Sacchetti family from Florence. The palace is still privately owned by the Sacchetti family, so if there are any Sacchetti males wandering around Rome born in the 70s who like a girl who talks a lot, call me!

The palace is filled with art from the Mannerist period, which emerged from the Italian High Renaissance, as exemplified in the Great Map Room (see photos, below!) that includes works by Pietro da Cortona and Jacopino del Conte.

Friends, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. All I can add is that we had a wonderful tour guide, who recounted the history of the place and also pointed out artistic details that I would have missed without her. Thank you again to Italian Ways for this fascinating visit and history lesson. I will think about this visit every time I walk down Via Giulia for the rest of my life.

The Entrance to Palazzo Sacchetti

The nicest parking lot I’ve ever seen. Inside Palazzo Sacchetti’s courtyard.

A detail in the entrance of Palazzo Sacchetti.

The Great Map Room in Palazzo Sacchetti.

The Great Map Room of Palazzo Sacchetti.

My boots, this floor.

Glad I took a picture so I could see what this room looked like – I was too busy staring at the ceiling.

I guess Rome didn’t have enough churches for this family. They have their own chapel, added to the palace in 1612. The frescos in here were painted by Agostino Ciampelli.

Sculptural details like this were everywhere.

A window inside Palazzo Sacchetti.

The view from Palazza Sacchetti towards over the sublime Via Giulia.

Comfy.

A shot from the movie, filmed in Palazzo Sacchetti’s dining room. Photo: espresso.repubblica.it.

The dining room of Palazzo Sacchetti, where one of the more melancholy scenes in La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) was filmed.

Another view of the famous dining room from the movie (and real life).

I love that someone created this thing simply to add whimsy and color to a very formal room.

Palazzo Sacchetti’s garden, where part of La Grande Bellezza was filmed. One of Rome’s busiest streets is just on the other side.

Palazzo Sacchetti’s garden was used for the scene where the nuns are running around playing with little kids.

There are similar heads facing in the other direction, overlooking the Lungotevere – one of the busiest streets in Rome. I’ve always wondered what was on the other side.

A detail in Palazzo Sacchetti’s Garden

These guys in every corner.

A sculpture in Palazzo Sacchetti’s garden.

Another sculpture in Palazzo Sacchetti’s garden.

At the end of the white and green garden, this explosion of color, inside the “Nymph Building” in the Palazzo Sacchetti garden.

These heads!

The Palazzo Sacchetti garden, in full spring bloom.

…and to my friend Chiara to snapped this picture!

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