Doria Pamphili Palace

In 1721, the area where the Borghese-Pamphili-Doria Palace would be built was a site owned by Capt. Alessandro Baronio. In 1725, a private contract was finalised between Baronio, the Community and the Prince, notarised on 14 December 1728 by the Meldola notary Cristoforo Ronconi, in which the exchange was made in which Prince D. Camillo junior ceded to Baronio some shops in the area. Camillo junior ceded to Baronio some shops located in the square in order to become the owner of the site at the end of it, with the firm intention of then building the new palace there. After the formalisation of the deeds, the project was swiftly started, and it was also planned to erect the new clock tower there, which at that time was to be built to replace the one on the façade of the church of St Nicholas, which was by then dilapidated and close to collapse. The tower did not find a location, probably due to the problems with its construction, which did not coincide, also because the economic resources followed a completely different procedure: the palace was financed by the prince’s coffers, while the tower required resources from local businesses.

What is certain is that work on the construction of the prince’s new residence began in 1729, considering that in April of that year, documents record that the Campo dei Bovi, which was on the other side of the canal, was occupied […] by the earth excavated from the foundation of the factory of His Excellency, while the tower saw the laying of the first stone in 1733, when the palace was nearing completion. In addition to the prince’s residence on the main floor, which by the way was never occupied except by his agent, a few butchers’ shops were placed on the ground floor because near the canal they would have ensured a certain cleanliness to the village by making the loggias and the square free and decent. By 1733, the construction of the palace was finished. Andrea Orsini was one of the prince’s agents who lived in the palace, with his wife Francesca Ricci, who, on 10 December 1819, in one of the palace rooms, gave birth to Felice, the patriot who organised the attempt on Napoleon III so that Italy could become a united and free nation. After the events that led to Felice’s death, the building was dedicated to him.